Chinese wins the Indian Open, with home favourite Jeev Milkha Singh finishing fourth
Chinese wins the Indian Open, with home favourite Jeev Milkha Singh finishing fourth
NEW DELHI: Indian Open truly belonged to Chinese Liang Wen-Chong, who clinched the USD one million Asian Tour event in a thrilling finale here on Sunday.
Jeev Milkha Singh battled through a neck sprain to record his personal best finish of fourth.
Saturday’s leader Wen Chong (70) fell a stroke behind Australia’s Darren Beck (65), who was tied 12th after the third round, but came back strongly to record a sensational birdie-birdie finish and grab the title by a stroke with a total of 16-under 272. Australian Adam Blyth (72) completed the top-three at 13-under 275.
Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa had another wretched day in the greens, turning in a 74 that left him tied 57th with an overall two-over total.
But Jeev made sure that the local fans had something to cheer about and turned in a steady 69 in the final round to finish 12-under despite being hampered by a stiff neck. The Chandigarh-pro pocketed USD 49,300 for his fighting effort.
Jeev’s previous best at the National Open was a tied 13th last year and at the start of this year’s event, the seasoned pro had just stopped short of describing the Delhi Golf Course as an unsolved riddle. Determined to improve his indifferent home run, Jeev stayed inside top-20 through the tournament. Starting off with back-to-back birdies on the first and second, Jeev was three-under at the turn after picking up another birdie-brace against a fifth-hole bogey. He then played out a steady back nine, picking up a stroke on the last hole after sropping a bogey on the 16th to round off his best ever performance at the DGC.
Apart from Jeev, Mukesh Kumar (70) and Ashok Kumar (72) also finished inside top-10 at tied sixth with a total of six-under.
Little-known pro Sanjay Kumar recorded a creditable tied 10th finish after returning a 70 that put his final tally at seven-under. However, it was another day of frustration for Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra, who posted his worst card of the tournament a 79— to finish 49th with a total of one-over.
Veteran Gaurav Ghei finished tied 34th after stuttering to a 77 in the final round that left him two-under overall.
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