Faridabad: Delhi’s Pawan Verma bagged his maiden professional title with a creditable two-stroke victory at the Aravalli Golf Club in Faridabad on Thursday. Verma shot a three-over-75 in the third and final round to total two-over-192   at the fourth event of the 2012 PGTI Feeder Tour season. Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan also fired a three-over-75 to finish second at four-over-194.
 
The 21-year-old Pawan Verma (45-72-75), who began the day one stroke off the lead in second place, made two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey in his third and final round. Verma sank a 10-feet putt to birdie the fifth and then dropped a bogey on the seventh. The professional from the Delhi Golf Club chipped it within a few inches for birdie on the eighth to make the turn at one-under for the day.
 
Pawan then dropped four strokes on the 11th, 12th and 13th as a result of two bogeys and a double bogey (12th). However, he held on with pars on the last five holes to bag his maiden professional title. Verma sealed it with a chip shot that landed within a few inches on the closing 18th and set up an easy par putt.
 
Verma said, “I putted well through the week and hit it to perfection today. The conditions were not easy today as it was quite windy. However, I stuck to the basics and tried to keep the ball in play. This is a huge win for me as it boosts my confidence for the rest of the PGTI season. I have broken the all-important victory-barrier now and can play with a more relaxed mindset.”
 
Local favourite Abhinav Lohan (46-73-75) was the runner-up with a total of four-over-194. He made five birdies against eight bogeys in his final round of 75.
 
Rajesh Kumar Rawat of Lucknow secured third place with a five-over-195 total.
 
Ramesh Kumar of Faridabad and Sudhir Sharma of Meerut were tied fourth at six-over-196.
 
Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan of Delhi leads the 2012 PGTI Feeder Tour Order of Merit with earnings of Rs. 1,23,325 for the season.