Professional golfer Gurki Shergill put Pune on India 's golfing map after being the first one from the city to win a title at the Indian Professional Circuit (IPC). Shergill won the eighth Tata Open held at Jamshedpur on Sunday.

In what was an exciting finish to the tournament, Shergill and Delhi golfer Shamim Khan, the joint overnight leaders, carded identical scores of one under 69 in the final round to be tied at the top of the leader board with scores of 12 under 270 after the regulation 72 holes. Shergill eventually came through on the first playoff hole.

Shergill started playing the sport from the age of 14. Since then, the 30 –year-old, who turned professional in 2001, has represented the nation on two occasions – in France and Hong Kong . This is by far his biggest achievement.

The victory means a lot to this golfer who has toiled hard on the greens of Poona Club for the past fifteen years. “This is the biggest victory of my career. The fact that I am the first person from Pune to win on the professional circuit makes it even more special”, he said.

According to him, his never-say-die attitude and determination has made this achievement possible. ‘Perseverence conquers all’, he said. His victory at Jamshedpur has helped him climb from 67th to 31st place on the Aircel PGTI Order of Merit for 2009.

Shergill has had a tough time financially in the past few months as he lost his sponsor. His contract ended one day before his tournament victory and he hopes that his achievement will help renew it. He was also very low on confidence, as he had missed four cuts in the last month itself. “This victory has renewed my enthusiasm,” he said.

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