Thailand Open: Tied second finish for Kapur, Bhullar

New Delhi: Shiv Kapur finished tied second along with fellow Indian, Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) at 19-under, as Rattanon Wannasrichan (67) totalling 21-under to complete a two-shot victory at the Thailand Open golf tournament in Bangkok on Sunday.

Kapur, chasing for back-to-back wins, sank four straight birdies in his closing five holes to pile the pressure on Rattanon before signing for the day’s best score of 63.

Bhullar, a seven-time Asian Tour winner, impressed with a birdie-birdie finish after chipping in from 35 yards on the 18 to close with a second consecutive 67.

Kapur and Bhullar tied for second, made it the third event in last four Asian Tour tournaments that Indians had either won or finished second. After S.S.P. Chawrasia’s win at the Hero Indian Open, Kapur had won in Taiwan.

Among the other Indians, Jeev Milkha Singh (72) ended tied 32nd, while Shankar Das (70) and Khalin Joshi (70) were tied 42nd. Shubhankar Sharma (72) was tied 66th and Himmat Rai (74) and Chiragh Kumar (72) were tied 73rd while S. Chikkarangappa (74) and Arjun Prasad (72) were tied 75th.

Kapur, happy with his show, also has a tinge of disappointment, saying, “It was disappointing to miss the birdie to get to 20-under but I am not complaining with a closing 63. I played a great round of golf. If you told me I would shoot a 63 at the start of the day, I would have taken it. The putter wasn’t working too well for me on the first three days but it got hot today. I made a lot of putts except for the last hole but it’s golf.” Bhullar added, “It was a great finish with two consecutive birdies to grab a share of second place. I played well and I thought at the end of the day, I will either win or finish inside top-five. I am very happy with the way I played.”