Johannesburg, Apr 18 (PTI) Udayan Mane clinched his maiden AM Green IGPL Trophy, storming to a commanding seven-shot victory over the much-decorated Gaganjeet Bhullar at the AM Green IGPL Invitational South Africa here on Saturday.
Mane, who had held at least a share of the lead since the opening round, endured an early wobble with two bogeys in the first four holes, a sharp contrast to his bogey-free run over the first two days at the iconic Royal Johannesburg Golf Club’s West Course.
However, the Indian responded with authority, firing seven birdies over the remaining 14 holes to card a final-round 67 and seal a dominant win.
The triumph follows his third-place finish at the AM Green IGPL Mauritius last week, underlining a strong return to form for Mane in recent weeks.
After superb rounds of 65-64 on the first two days, his final round of 67 gave him a 20-under total, the best so far this season. Bhullar was a distant second at 13-under, while Manav Shah totalled 12-under in third place.
Bhullar, winner of four AM Green IGPL titles since its inception, added 68 to his first two rounds of 67-68, while Manav, who had a share of the first day’s lead with a 65, added 70-69 on last two days.
Mane’s seven-shot win was also the biggest this season and it made him the third different winner after Bhullar in Chandigarh and Sachin Baisoya in AM Green IGPL Mauritius.
“It was great to win as I have not won in more than four years,” said the Olympian Mane, whose last win on the Indian tour came in late 2021. The former Indian Order of Merit winner, who also played the 2014 Asian Games, has now won 12 pro titles.
“I am so excited that I finally got over that hurdle (of not winning for so long) and it came at such a lovely and prestigious golf course like the Royal Johannesburg. Hopefully I will carry this momentum further this season.” Mane opened with a bogey and another bogey followed on the fourth. But he stopped the leakage with back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth and another on the ninth to stay well ahead of the field. On the back nine he added birdies on the 10th and the 11th and two more came on the 16th and the 18th to complete a well-deserved win.
It has been a good season after a rather modest 2025 when he failed to finish in Top-3 in any of his seven starts.
Binu gets best card of week ==================== The two big scorers on the final day were Shaurya Binu (63) and experienced Shiv Kapur (64). Kapur rose 13 spots, while Binu went up 17 places as both were tied fourth.
Musiwalo Nethunzwi of South Africa (71) was the top local finisher in sixth place at 9-under, while Karandeep Kochhar (70) dropped three bogeys on his back nine and ended seventh at 8-under.
Young Raghav Chugh (71) was tied at eighth with Harshjeet Singh Sethie (69) at 7-under total, while another South African Alessio Graziani (73) rounded off the Top-10.
In terms of the individual standings, Bhullar is on top with Rs. 39,96,800, while Sachin Baisoya (Rs. 34,17,550) was second and the latest winner, Udayan Mane rose to third place with Rs. 32,61,000.
Mane’s super efforts also carried his team Atri Mumbai to the top of the overall team standings. Atri has Mane, Aman Raj, Aadil Bedi and Tushar Pannu as their players.
The next event is AM Green IGPL Invitational Congo next week. PTI ATK ATK AH AH
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