Bhubaneswar, Nov 6 (IANS) In a dramatic finish, Umed Kumar produced back-to-back chip-in birdies, one in the final hole of regulation play and one in the playoff, to win the PGTI NEXGEN’s season finale, the Dilip Tirkey Invitational 2025, an Rs 20 lakh event, played at the Bhubaneswar Golf Club.

It was Umed’s second NEXGEN title of the season.

Umed, who hails from Chandimandir, Haryana, collected the winning cheque worth Rs 2,54,000 that helped him finish as No. 1 in the 2025 PGTI NEXGEN Order of Merit with season’s earnings of Rs 8,61,140. As a result of emerging NEXGEN Order of Merit champion, Umed has earned himself an exemption on the PGTI’s main tour next year.

The 24-year-old Umed Kumar (67-70-71), the overnight leader by three shots, struck a one-under 71 in the third and final round to total eight-under 208 for the week.

The match went into a playoff after Gurugram-based Kushal Singh (70-73-65), who was overnight tied seventh, produced the best round of the tournament, a seven-under 65, to end the regulation 54 holes in tied first place at eight-under 208 along with Umed.

The first-ever PGTI event to be played in Odisha was supported by Indian hockey legend Dilip Tirkey.

Chandarjeet Yadav (66) finished third at seven-under 209. Sanjeev Kumar and Divesh Rana ended the week in tied fourth position at five-under 211.

The Lucknow-based Sanjeev Kumar, who was the NEXGEN Order of Merit leader by a margin of over INR 1 lakh over nearest rival Umed Kumar, heading into the season’s last event in Bhubaneswar, earned himself a cheque worth Rs 1,02,300 for his tied fourth finish on Thursday. Sanjeev thus ended the season with earnings of Rs 8,11,040 to take second place in the Order of Merit.

Ajay Kumar Sahu had the best result among the local professionals after he totalled six-over 222 to take 27th place.

Umed Kumar, who eventually emerged wire-to-wire champion, had an up and down day as he picked up a birdie and two bogeys on the front-nine followed by two birdies and a bogey between the 11th and 17th. Umed made most fairways and greens on Thursday but also saw five of his putts lip out.

As Kushal Singh made a charge on the final day with an eagle and seven birdies against two bogeys, Umed needed a miracle to take Kushal into a playoff requiring a chip-in for birdie on the 18th. Umed managed to pull off the chip-in for birdie.

Thereafter, on the playoff hole, Umed produced a dream finish by chipping-in for birdie once again to take the title and the Order of Merit crown even as Kushal missed out on a birdie there.

Umed said, “This is the kind of finish a golfer often dreams of. One doesn’t make too many back-to-back chip-ins in a career and here I did it to win a match and the Order of Merit. It’s been an unbelievable day. I’m delighted to earn my playing rights on the main tour for next year. This win has given me a lot of self-belief.

“My hitting was good today but I missed a lot of putts unlike the last two days. I was looking at a four to five under on the final day to seal victory but I couldn’t get any momentum going today. I thought things were just not going my way and I may once again come close to a win and lose out like I had done on two previous occasions in the current NEXGEN season.

“But as I stood on my chip on the 18th, I felt I had nothing to lose. Once I chipped-in for birdie on the 18th and took the match into a playoff, my confidence was back. I carried that confidence into the playoff which turned the tide in my favour.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better season with two wins, a runner-up finish and another top-5. I would like to thank PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl for giving me a spot to play my first event on the NEXGEN this year which I went on to win. There has been no looking back since that moment.”

–IANS

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