Gangjee shoots 66 to finish 11th at Mauritius Open

Rahil Gangjee made big amends for the mistakes of the third day with a fine five-under 66 to finish tied 11th at the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open here on Sunday.

Gangjee, who is half Mauritian, wrapped up his campaign at Heritage Golf Club with six birdies against a lone bogey for a seven-under-par 277 total in the 1 million tournament tri-sanctioned by the Asian, European and Sunshine Tours.

The other Indian challenger left in the field, Gaganjeet Bhullar also carded his best of the week with a three-under 68 and finished with five birdies and two bogeys. He was tied 44th at two-under 282.

South African George Coetzee (69), who led the field when he came to the 16th tee, dropped a bogey as Thorbjorn Olesen (68), playing ahead him birdied the 17th. Coetzee after a par on 17th was one behind with only the 18th to play. He needed to birdie that to get into a play-off. He did just that.

Into the play-off, both Coetzee and Olesen birdied the 18th and went back to the tee yet again. Playing the 18th for the third time, Coetzee hit a great approach and birdied the hole a third time in succession.

Olesen conceded the hole and Coetzee emerged champion.

Sunday was the first time, Coetzee birdied the 18th this week and he did that three times in a row.

Mardan Mamat (67) was third at 12-under and Thomas Aiken (70) was fourth, while John Parry (66) and Scott Hend (66) were tied for fifth.

Gangjee speaking about his finish, said, "Brilliant. To finish with a birdie, it was even better. I had a tough two putt along the ridge but luckily I made the second putt from 10 feet. Conditions were there for the taking and I took a lot from it. You can’t rethink about yesterday (when he shot a 74 to fall out of contention). I didn’t want to get stuck there."

After missing four straight cuts to start his 2015 campaign, the 36-year-old was delighted to get some money on the board as he performed admirably on his mother?s home land.

"I've got a lot from this week. It’s my first cut on the Asian Tour this year and it’s just very positive. There’s nothing else I can take away from this but positivity. I hit my driver and irons well, that’s the main thing.

"In my game, I need to hit the irons well. If I putt well, I will finish top-10 or contend for a win. Hitting my irons well is relevant to my game,” said Gangjee, who is a one-time Asian Tour winner.

"I’ll have a lesson with my coach when I get back before the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open. I’ll spend a few more days in Mauritius, spend time with my wife and family here and celebrate my wife’s birthday on May 16."

Giving the tournament a thumbs up, Gangjee added, This is a brilliant tournament at a brilliant setting. It was a challenge with the weather initially but it’s turned out perfect. What a beautiful day it is for the spectators. It was nice to have my aunt and wife around this week. We’ll have a bit of a break before going home."