Kochhar finishes fifth at International Series Japan

India’s Karandeep Kochhar hit a late hat-trick of birdies in the thrilling fourth round to finish fifth at the International Series Japan, here Sunday.

Australia’s Travis Smyth clinched the title with an eagle on the last hole at the Caledonian Golf Club.

Kochhar remained bogey-free on the final day after a tumultuous third round and hit birdies on the 4th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes to finish the tournament with 12-under 272, three shots behind winner Smyth.

Meanwhile, Smyth’s dream run continued when he made an eagle putt on the par-five 18th to sensationally win the tournament by one.

In a riveting finish, he drained a 20-footer to narrowly avoid a play-off with Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Ryosuke Kinoshita from Japan.

The Australian’s brilliant final putt saw him shoot a seven-under-par 64 to move to 15-under, with Pavit and Kinoshita both in the clubhouse on 14-under.

It’s also his second victory on the Asian Tour.

The Asian Tour now heads to the Singapore Open.