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Ajeetesh Sandhu (born 9 October 1988) is an Indian professional golfer who currently plays on the PGTI, Asian Tour, European Tour and Japan Golf Tour. As an amateur he captained the squad[1] which represented India at the Eisenhower Trophy in 2006. Sandhu turned professional in 2008 and picked up his first professional victory on the PGTI Tour in 2012 at the DLF Masters[2] in a playoff against Jyoti Randhawa at the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram.
Early life
editAjeetesh Sandhu was introduced to golf at the age of 4, by his father SMS Sandhu, an ex-Chairman [3] of Punjab InfoTech Corp[4]. In 2004, he was presented with the National Child Awards for Exceptional Achievement[5] in Golf. In 2003-2004 he was recognised as the Number 1 player by the Indian Golf Union. Ajeetesh Sandhu, finished high school at St. John's School in Sector 26 in Chandigarh. In 2005 he moved to Florida after receiving a full scholarship by David Leadbetter Golf Academy[6] in Bradenton, Florida for two years.
In November 2005, Sandhu finished runner-up at the "Teens on the Green World Championship finale"[7] at the Mystery Valley Golf Club[8] in Atlanta, Georgia.
Professional career
editAjeetesh Sandhu turned professional in 2008, where he has won four times on the domestic tour, PGTI, and once each on the Asian Tour and the Japan Challenge Tour. In 2012, he had his breakthrough win at the DLF Masters in a playoff against Jyoti Randhawa at his home course of DLF Golf & Country Club. Ajeetesh prevailed[9] over the latter with a birdie on the first extra hole to clinch his maiden title on the PGTI.
In 2016[10] and 2017[11], Sandhu won the Golconda Masters titles back to back. 2017 was a highlight year for the Chandigarh golfer as he won three titles in quick succession in the same year, more so, his wins in Taipei and Japan came in consecutive weeks. On Oct. 8, 2017 Sandhu fired a final round of 2-under 70 to deny USA's Johannes Veerman for his first Asian Tour title [12] with a win at the US$ 500.000 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taipei. Next week, On Oct. 13, Sandhu won the Taiheiyo Club Challenge Tournament[13] after beating Konosuke Nakazato[14] of Japan for his first win on the Japan Challenge Tour.
In Oct. 2019, Ajeetesh Sandhu won the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational[15] for his fourth title on the PGTI and sixth overall across the globe.
On March 27, 2022 he came close to his second Asian Tour title before losing to Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand in a playoff at The DGC Open[16] in New Delhi.
Professional Wins (6)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Nov 2012 | DLF Masters[17] | -6 (70-66-70-66=282) | Playoff | Jyoti Randhawa |
| 2 | 28 Feb 2016 | Golconda Masters[18] | -23 (62-68-66-65=261) | 4 strokes | Shubhankar Sharma |
| 3 | 19 Feb 2017 | Golconda Masters[19] | -11 (70-67-73-63 = 273) | Playoff | Khalin H Joshi |
| 4 | 20 Oct 2019 | Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational[20] | -20 (66-69-67-66 = 268) | Playoff | Rashid Khan |
Asian Tour (1)
edit| No | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Oct 2017 | Yeangder Tournament Players Championship[21] | -11 (69-69-68-70 = 276) | 1 stroke | Johannes Veerman |
| No | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 Oct 2017 | Taiheiyo Club Challenge | -6 (65-71 = 136) | Playoff | Konosuke Nakazato |
References
edit- ^ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Sandhu's resilient display earns him DLF Masters 2012 crown". The Times of India. PTI. Nov 4, 2012. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Pro-Captain SMS Sandhu resigns, likely to join Punjab Lok Congress". TheFactNews. 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Home". punjabinfotech.in. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Nation". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "LGA ChampionsGate". Golfzon Leadbetter. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Sport". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Atlanta Golf | Mystery Valley Golf Club". www.mysteryvalley.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "DLF Masters 2012 - 4moles.com". 4moles.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ INDIA, THE HANS (2016-02-29). "Sandhu clinches Golconda Masters". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Ajeetesh Sandhu wins Golconda Masters 2017". Golfingindian. 2017-02-19. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Yeangder Tournament Players Championship", Wikipedia, 2021-09-19, retrieved 2022-04-03
- ^ "Chandigarh golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu registers first victory on Japan tour". The Indian Express. 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ TOUR, 日本ゴルフツアー機構-The Official Site of JAPAN GOLF. "Konosuke NAKAZATO Player Profile". 日本ゴルフツアー機構 - The Official Site of JAPAN GOLF TOUR (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ PTI. "Ajeetesh Sandhu clinches Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational title". Sportstar. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ https://olympics.com/en/news/dgc-open-2022-golf-india-winner
- ^ "Ajeetesh Sandhu triumphs at DLF Masters". News18. 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ INDIA, THE HANS (2016-02-29). "Sandhu clinches Golconda Masters". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Ajeetesh Sandhu retains Golconda Masters title in fine style". Deccan Chronicle. 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ PTI. "Ajeetesh Sandhu clinches Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational title". Sportstar. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Ajeetesh Sandhu wins first Asian Tour title at Yeangder TPC". Zee News. 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2022-04-04.