New Delhi: Fairytale endings in sports are rare, but given the season Veer Ahlawat has had, a hefty slice of luck seems not just well-earned but pre-ordained. On the final day of PGTI’s season-ending TATA Steel Tour Championship in Jamshedpur, the 28-year-old was tied on top with 17-under with Amardeep Malik, and in the playoff that ensued on the 18th, Malik had a heart-breaking lip-out from 20 feet that could’ve sealed a birdie and perhaps the match for him. On the second extra hole, Malik hit it over the green and missed the chip-putt for par while Ahlawat made the decisive par to lift the trophy and culminate a season where he has stacked some staggering numbers.
The win was Ahlawat’s second this year on the domestic tour, and marked the ninth occasion in 13 PGTI tournaments in 2024 where he had finished in top-10. The reward for Ahlawat is a record-breaking ₹ 1,56,35,724 in prize money that puts him firmly on top of PGTI’s Order of Merit. Consequently, he has also earned the 2025 card for the DP World Tour (European Tour).
“Coming into the year, one of my goals was to top the PGTI merit list. To do it in such a dominant fashion feels really special,” he said. Ahlawat opened the season with a fifth-place finish at Kolkata Challenge, but the tone was set at the DP World Tour-co-sanctioned Hero Indian Open on his home course in March where he hit a last-hole eagle in fading light to jump from ninth spot to a three-way tie for second, finishing behind Japan’s .
