American golfer of Indian descent Manav Shah has won the Quito Open on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
Born in the United States after his family shifted there from Mumbai, Shah, saw off challenges from Joel Thelen and Mitchell Meissner by two strokes to clinch the title.
He had led after the first round with a 63 before slipping in the next and was unable to complete the third on Saturday, when the weather gods intervened and forced a suspension of play.
On Sunday, Shah needed to complete the final six holes of the third round and posted 4-under 68. He started his final round a couple of hours later and played even better for 66 and won by two.
Shah pulled away from a bunched leader board late in the round, shooting a bogey-free 66.
The win has helped Shah move to No. 8 on the ‘Totalplay Cup Points List’ on the PGA Latinoamerica Tour. This now places him in a position to make a run at the top five with four tournaments remaining in the season. The top five from the List earn a status on Korn Ferry, which is then the passage to the PGA Tour.
(With PTI Inputs)
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