Golf: Anura Rohana wins Bengaluru Open 2018 comfortably

Sri Lanka’s Anura Rohana, Asian Games 2002 silver medalist, has been flying the Lankan flag with pride as a leading professional golfer on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and the Asian Golf Tour, ever since.

Rohana, ranked No.2 on the PGTI 2018, played more in the Asian Tour in 2018, but once again made his mark in the Bengaluru Open Golf Championship 2018 played at the Karnataka Golf Association Course, with an impressive field of 125 top professionals vying for the top prize including over 10 top Asian Tour Professionals as well from India playing on their home soil.

Rohana’s opening round of five under par placed him in 4th one stroke behind 3 joint leaders on six under par. 

The second round saw Rohana firing a stunning 8 under par to stride in to a clear 3 stroke lead at the halfway mark. 

At the press interview of the leader after the 2 round cut-off, Rohana was asked for his comments on his brilliant 8 under par round and if he was going to play safe in the 3rd round.

A confident Rohana replied: "I love the Karnataka Golf Association Course in Bengaluru which I believe is the best Course in India and we can’t have any excuses as the Greens, bunkers, fairways, Tees are comparable to the best in the world and the Course is long and challenging and the bold players can attack the Pin without fear. Most certainly I will not play safe, as this field has at least 20 top players including Asian Tour players who are stacked up behind the leaderand I need to stay focused". 

"I am playing with much confidence thanks to my sponsor Softlogic Life and the support extended to me by the Chairman, Mr. Ashok Pathirage, allows me to play my game without looking over my shoulder trying to manage my Tour Cost including Air-fare".

"It is necessary to mention that even after I won a silver medal for Sri Lanka it has been a struggle for me on the Professional Tour, until Softlogic Life gave a Life-changing opportunity to truly pursue my talent and skill as a Professional Golfer bringing credit to my Sponsor and my Country".

As expressed with confidence Rohana fired another 5 under par 3rd round to extend his lead to 5 strokes going in to the final round. 

Although many players were waiting to pounce, Rohana further extended his lead to eight strokes with 3 holes to play.

An unwarranted double-bogey reduced his lead but bold play in the final Par 5 hole reaching the Green in 2, three putting but still had three strokes to spare with a winning aggregate of 19 under par.

Rohanas’ incredible feat of firing a total 24 birdies in the four rounds, with the 2nd and 3rd rounds bogey free and the 1st round having just 2 bogeys and the final round a single bogey and double bogey to seal an incredible victory with a grand 19 under par total.

Rohana now a multiple winner on the PGTI has earned the Full Tour Card for the next three years and assures that he will continue to make an impact on the Asian Tour and PGTI as well in 2019. 

Rohana also earned the Country Spot in the Asian Tour, as the highest Sri Lankan earner in the Asian Tour 2018.

Rohana and fellow compatriots Mithun Perera and N. Thangaraja have all won on the PGTI in 2018 and are all multiple winners, with Thangaraja ranked 10th, Rohana 11th and Mithun 13th in the PGTI 2018 year-end rankings.

Bengaluru Open Golf Championship 2019 - Final Standings Top 10

-19 Winner: R.A. Anura Rohana

-16 Runner-up: Aman Raj 

-15 3rd: Aadil Bedi

-14Jt 4th: M. Dharma, Mukesh Kumar

-13 Jt 6th: Udayan Mane, C. Muniyappa

-12 8th: Om Prakash Chouhan

-11 9th: Harendra Gupta

-10 Jt 10th: Mari Mutur, Rashid Khan