Dodt scripts perfect ending

Australian Andrew Dodt shot a four-under 68 to land his first ever professional title while Gangjee,in a share of the lead with five last-round holes to go,managed to let go of a possible first title in six years.

The cheers never stopped for Rahil Gangjee at the DLF Golf & Country Club on Sunday. Stepping onto the 18th green to take a penalty drop,he got a rabble of big shouts. When his chip headed holewards for what would have been a closing par save and a spot seven places up on the leaderboard,he got another big whoop. Unfortunately for the sole home contender and his supporting chorus,his challenge at the Avantha Masters,just like that chip,fell heartbreakingly short.

Australian Andrew Dodt shot a four-under 68 to land his first ever professional title while Gangjee,in a share of the lead with five last-round holes to go,managed to let go of a possible first title in six years. For Dodt,who grew up on a farm next to a golf course in Gatton,near Brisbane,the title was almost poetic justice. The 24-year-old had finished second the past week at the New Zealand Open and lost in the play-off at the Vietnam Masters in 2008.

The lead had been shared and swapped too many times,but for Gangjee,the precipitation was sudden,and when it came,it was swift and took him down too many notches. Having begun the day in a logjam of leading names,careful but firm putting kept Gangjee away from the danger of dropping out of the race early on and he made his first push on the par-five sixth hole a great chip-out from the greenside bunker on the left leaving him with a three-foot putt for birdie. Then,a tad too adventurous while on the ninth tee box,Gangjee mis-hit into the trees on the left,but handy rallying and one big putt made sure he didnt drop any strokes. Having hit a disappointing second shot on the 10th hole,the 31-year-old then chipped in from the rough to move to 13-under and the lead,though he was in sole possession of it for only a few minutes.

Beginning of the slide

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The rot started on the 14th hole,as he missed a five-footer to drop only his second shot of the week. It intensified on the par-three 16th,when Gangjee,still only a shot off the lead,made his putt for par after the birdie attempt had lipped out a little too carelessly and dropped another shot. Out of the race by then,he found water on the 17th and also the 18th to drop to a nine-under aggregate and out of the top ten. I dont know what happened. I will just need to look into it properly, he said later of his two-ver 274.

Dodt got into the mix with three front nine birdies,but a dropped shot on the 11th hole had threatened to keep him down. Englishman Richard Finch had made an early charge his six-under 66 finally gave him the runner-up place and there were a host of names behind Dodt pushing on for their own dream days.

A birdie on the 16th and then a chip-out of the bunker on the finishing hole that landed a foot away pushed him just one tiny step ahead of everyone. Dodt,though,still had to wait till Barry Lane and Richard Bland had finished their rounds to be sure of there being no play-off. You play those bunker shots a million times in practice and I was telling myself it was the same thing. It came out just perfectly, Dodt said.

The delay finished with the beginning of a happy daze. I cant even describe the feeling, he said later. His victory speech,jotted down on a tiny piece of paper,had obviously been made with some quick research and was dotted with thank yous to the organising staff and careful pronunciation of Indian names. The Australian bunch with fellow players Darren Beck and Adam Blyth shouting out congratulations as cameras surrounded Dodt had just begun their own boisterous party. The domestic cluster finally had to fall silent.

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FINAL SCORES: 1 14-under 274 Andrew Dodt (AUS) 67-68-71-68; 2 13-under 275 Richard Finch (ENG) 69-69-71-66; 3 12-under 276 David Drysdale (SCO) 68-67-71-70,Tetsuji Hiratsuka (JPN) 73-62-70-71,Barry Lane (ENG) 67-67-71-71,Richard Bland (ENG) 68-71-66-71; 7 11-under 277 Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) 68-71-66-72; 8 10-under 278 Jason Knutzon (USA) 70-67-72-69,Steven OHara (SCO) 69-73-67-69,Darren Clarke (NIR) 71-66-70-71,Oliver Fisher (ENG) 70-67-71-70,Jeppe Huldahl (DEN) 71-70-66-71,Chan Yih-shin (TPE) 65-68-72-73; 14 9-under 279 Lam Chih Bing (SIN) 67-68-74-70,Rick Kulacz (AUS) 68-67-74-70,Richie Ramsay (SCO) 71-68-70-70,Rahil Gangjee (IND) 67-69-69-74