A 25-footer birdie putt on the 13th hole had almost sealed the issue for overnight leader Chiragh Kumar on the final day of the Panasonic Open India here on Sunday. Chiragh was then two strokes ahead of Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman, who stayed on the heels of the leader throughout.
An expert at the venerable DeIlhi Golf Club course, Siddikur still managed to birdie the 15th, slicing the lead to one.
It was a moment when one tends to commit mistakes as pressure builds. Thus Chiragh, who has played the course since his junior days, chose to play it safe — parring every hole.
Meanwhile, Siddikur — already playing in pain following the reoccurrence of a lower back injury — couldn’t find the right swing, ending up with his tee shots in bushes and two bogeys in the closing 17th and 18th holes.
He ended on even-par 72 to finish three strokes behind Chiragh (70), who claimed his breakthrough victory on the Asian Tour here on Sunday. The Delhi pro, who sealed his Tour card with a second place finish at the Macau Open three weeks back, had a four-day total of 13-under 275.
“Winning an Asian Tour event means a lot to me. It is so special to win here. It is like a dream come true. This is the best thing that can happen to me. Everybody knows me at this club so it is very special to win here,” said Chiragh, who was cheered by his wife Namrata and daughter Aynaz during the day.
“I always knew that Siddikur will be a tough guy to beat especially when he was one shot behind me. I’m lucky he didn’t get off to a hot start. It was neck and neck all the way but I kept myself together and played well,” he added.
For Siddikur, the campaign ended on a disappointing note.
He felt the pain on the second hole and thoughts of retiring flashed through his mind.
“I thought I would not be able to play because I was hurt but the physiotherapist gave me some treatment on the fourth tee box and I felt better. I’m happy that I finished my round. I didn’t put any pressure on myself to do well or win because I could feel the pain in my back. The win didn’t come but it is okay,” said the two-time Asian Tour winner, who shared the second place with Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant (69).
Meanwhile, there were some who made a surge on the final day.
Jyoti Randhawa, riding on a scintillating back nine including six birdies, and Thailand’s Namchok Tantipokhakul — with an eagle in his roller-coaster round of 66 — jumped to tied fourth spot, which was also shared by 19-year-old Shubhankar Sharma (69) and Day One leader Mithun Perera (70) on 279.
Other Indians who finished in the top 10 were Manav Jaini, Shankar Das and Vikrant Chopra, all tied eighth at eight-under-280. After shooting in the 70s, Gaganjeet Bhullar managed a 69 to finish tied 20th.
