After producing his best result since 2007 with a fourth place finish at the USD 1.5 million The Championship, Rahil Gangjee is now hoping to end his 10-year long title drought on the Asian Tour.
The amiable Indian made a strong debut on the Asian Tour when he won in China in 2004 but has since come up short in his bid to land a second victory on the region's premier Tour.
Gangjee was in the thick of contention at The Championship in Singapore before settling for fourth place. He took pride in his performance which was his best result since finishing third at the 2007 Hero Indian Open.
"My game has been pretty good. I think it's my physical ability to carry on which has been tested these last few weeks. Overall I am really very happy because it is really difficult to stay focus in the heat. You get more and more tired towards the end of the round so I'm glad with how I finished," said Gangjee.
He enjoyed a late flourish by shooting five closing birdies for a career low of 19-under 269 to finish three shots behind champion Felipe Aguilar of Chile, who fired a stunning 62, which included an eagle at the last, to win the title.
"The last few holes went by in a hurry. My heart was beating fast on the 17th tee when I hit that six iron. It ended on the edge of the green and did not move from there. I kept myself in it and it was a bonus that the (birdie) putt went in. I think this is my best finish so far and my best four round score ever," he smiled.
The commendable result earned him USD 75,000 which propelled him to fourth place on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit. Countryman Anirban Lahiri, who finished sixth last week, continues to lead the rankings following his victory at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters two weeks ago.
Gangjee and Lahiri are among four Indians in the current top-10 of the Merit list which includes two-time Asian Tour winner SSP Chowrasia (7th) and young prospect Rashid Khan (8th) who won the season-opening SAIL-SBI Open on home soil.
The 35-year-old Gangjee will have extra motivation to land a second Asian Tour title as his season's collection of USD 103,636 will be good enough to secure his playing rights for 2015.
