Friday, March 27, 2009
Rashid retains Faldo Series Asia title
Rashid Khan returned a card of two-under 70 to emerge on top at the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final played at Mission Hills in China. With a three-day total of five-under 211, Rashid became the first back-to-back winner of the title. 
It has been a stellar season for Rashid that has seen him win four titles on the LG Amateur Tour, including the LG Rambagh Open Amateur, just two days prior to his departure to China.
S Chikkarangappa from Bangalore finished third, five behind the leader. It was a good comeback from the young lad after a 78 in the first round had pushed him down the leaderboard. Amanjyot Singh started off well but could not keep up his good showing, shooting a 76 and 81 in the last two rounds to finish outside the top-20.
Rashid got off to a sedate start in the tournament with an even-par 72 but followed it up with a 69 in the second round that put him in the lead. The 18-year-old won with a birdie four on the 18th hole to finish on five-under-par, one ahead of Spain’s Adrian Jauregui who had chipped in for eagle on the same hole playing one group in front.
A delighted Rashid later said, “I am so happy to win. I was nervous at the start, especially with Mr Faldo watching, however I soon settled and stuck to my game plan. Even towards the end when the scores were tight I felt confident that I could do it. I want to come back next year and win again!”
Six-time Major winner Nick Faldo said, “I was really impressed with Rashid today – he hit two great drives down 17 and 18 under a lot of pressure which set him up for the win.”
The field for this year’s tournament included Steven Brown, the winner of the Faldo Series Grand Finals held in Brazil.
Now in its 12th season, past Faldo Series winners include European Tour stars Nick Dougherty, Marc Warren, Oliver Fisher and the current sensation in the golfing world, Rory McIlroy.
Final Scores-:
211: Rashid KHAN IND (72, 69, 70)
212: Adrian JAUREGUI ESP (70, 73, 69)
216: S CHIKKARANGAPPA IND (78, 69, 69)
217: HUNG Chien Yao TPE (71, 72, 74)
219: Gregory FOO SIN (70, 72, 77)
221: Steven BROWN ENG (73, 75, 73)
221: LIU Lok Tin HKG (72, 75, 74)
222: HSIEH Yu Ling (69, 77, 76)
223: Nicholas FUNG (81, 73, 69)
223: HSIEH Chi Hsien TPE (75, 72, 76)
Indian Scores-:
211: Rashid KHAN IND (72, 69, 70)
216: S Chikkarangappa IND (78, 69, 69)
229: Amanjyot Singh IND (72, 76, 81)
233: Ankur Chadha IND (80, 78, 75)
244: Gauri Monga IND (81, 84, 79)
257: Bhanupratap Singh IND (93, 82, 82)
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