Golf | Chawrasia retains Indian Open crown

03/13/2017

S.S.P. Chawrasia played some scintillating golf on the final day of the Hero Indian Open in Gurgaon to win the $1.75 million title. Chawrasia finished with a 10-under on Sunday, which included a hat-trick of birdies, as his nearest rivals Carlos Pigem and Gavin Green slowly fell back.

Only six players could break par on aggregate at the challenging DLF Golf and Country Club course. However, Chawrasia showed his class to move ahead of the rest of the pack. The 38-year-old played 25 holes on the final day, which include seven ending from the previous day. The Indian held a two-stroke lead on the rest of the field throughout the day before eventually winning by seven shots.

“I feel great as it’s one of the toughest courses I’ve played and won by seven shots. This is the biggest victory of my career. The secret (behind winning) is only hard work, I gave my 100% and I practised a lot on everything," Chawrasia told The Hindu.

“I was not comfortable on this course, I was nervous on every single shot. When I finished the (third) round, (in the forenoon today), I knew I had a two-shot lead into the final round. I told myself, I didn’t need birdies, just aiming for pars in the final round.”

He also credited Jeev Milkha Singh for giving him the right advice at the right time on the course. “I just played good this week, obviously some luck, too. Jeev (Milkha Singh) was telling me to calm down and play my own game and don’t look at others. I told him I’ll follow his advice and follow the same routine.”

The scores: S.S.P. Chowrasia (72, 67, 68, 71) 278; Gavin Green (Mas) (72, 73, 65, 75) 285; Scott Jamieson (Sco) (70, 74, 70, 72), Matteo Manassero (Ita) (68, 73, 72, 73) 286; Anirban Lahiri (76, 73, 72, 73), Rafa Cabrera Bello (Esp), (73, 73, 70, 71) and Carlos Pigem (Esp) (69, 73, 67, 78) 287.

Other Indians: Chiragh Kumar (73, 75, 71, 74) 293; S. Chikkarangapa (72, 76, 75, 72) 295; Shubhankar Sharma (72, 76, 71, 78) 297; Shamim Khan (74, 74, 73, 77) 298; Gaganjeet Bhullar (74, 74, 76, 74) 298); Arjun Atwal (74, 76, 72, 79) 301; Ajeetesh Sandhu (73, 77, 77, 74) 301; Digvijay Singh (77, 70, 75, 80), Deepinder Singh Kullar (76, 74, 76, 76) 302; Jyoti Randhawa (75, 70, 79, 79) 303; Rashid Khan (73, 76, 78, 81) 308; Rigel Fernandes (A) (72, 76, 84, 77) 309; Abhijit Chadha (76, 73, 79, 82) 310.

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