MANE CRUISES TO VICTORY IN OXFORD GOLF

Rookie Udayan Mane secured

his second title in only his ninth professional start with a comfortable eight- stroke victory at the inaugural

Western India Oxford Masters at the Oxford Golf Resort in Pune on Friday.

The 24- year- old from Bengaluru shot a clinical four- under- 68 in Round Four for a tournament total of 19

under- 269. Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan finished a distant second at 11- under- 277 at the 30 lakh PGTI event. Mane ( 65- 69- 67- 68), sitting on a mammoth six- shot lead ahead of the final round, did

n’t look in trouble at any stage on Friday. Following

his maiden title in Jaipur three weeks ago, Mane was

quick off the blocks, and maintained the momentum all the way. He also became

the first player to win two titles in his rookie season on the PGTI circuit. “I don’t just want to score well but in fact

want to achieve a certain quality in my game. Once I have that quality, the scores

will follow. The two wins mean that I’ll now have to reassess my goals for the season and aim much higher than before,” said Mane, who led in all four rounds of the

tournament. Lohan ( 72- 65- 70- 70), overnight tied second, finished as sole runner- up after his final round of two- under70 with five birdies against

two bogeys. Shubhankar Sharma of Gurgaon shot the day’s joint best score of sixunder- 66 to end the week in

tied third place.