India's Shiv Kapur finally ended a long wait for winning a trophy on his home turf, Delhi Golf Club (DGC), by clinching the Panasonic Open India 2017 here on Sunday.
Kapur handed in a final round card of four-under 68 and a total of 17-under 271 to become the sixth Indian in seven editions to win the event. It was his third Asian Tour win, the second this year and the first at DGC, his homeclub.
The Indian domination of the event was overwhelming. As Kapur shot his fourth straight round in 60s to win by three shots, a big bunch of seven players, six of them Indian, were Tied for second at 14-under. They were Chiragh Kumar (64), Ajeetesh Sandhu (65), Karandeep Kochar (66), SSP Chawrasia (69), Om Prakash Chouhan (69), Sudhir Sharma (69) and Paul Peterson (71) who were all tied for second. Shamim Khan (72) and Honey Baisoya (68) were Tied for ninth, as nine Indians figured in the Top-10.
Kapur's win also took him to the top of the Panasonic Open Swing, which spans over five tournaments and this was the second tournament. The first was Thailand Open, where Kapur was second and the Panasonic Open India was the second one. Two more events in Malaysia and Indonesia will follow and the final one will be in Japan in 2018.
On Sunday, in front of his three-month daughter Veda, wife Maya and his parents and a whole lot of friends at DGC, Kapur won his second title of the year, the third Asian Tour and the fifth international title.
The title race was evenly poised at the turn with only a single shot separating the leaders at the top of the leaderboard. But it was Kapur who eventually broke away from the chasing pack when he fired four birdies on holes 11, 12, 14 and 15 to sign off with a winning total of 17-under-par 271.
American Paul Peterson's chase for his first Asian Tour title fell short after he marked his card with three birdies and two bogeys to fall off the pace.
Peterson had to settle for a share of second place with six other players that included compatriots S.S.P. Chawrasia and Ajeetesh Sandhu at the $400,000 event.
Kapur birdied the second, and then parred all the way till the ninth and turned in one-under for the day and 14-under for tournament. A bogey on the 10th was a big jolt. "Actually that bogey fired me up," he said.
Though Kapur won by three shots, the contest was very intense for most part of the day. The lead changed so many hands that it was difficult to keep track. The 35-year-old Kapur found his way past a maze of opposition. One-under at the turn and 14-under for the tournament, Kapur said he was not thinking about any specific player. "There were too many bunched up and on this course one hole can change the course of a tournament," he said.
He said the bogey on tenth fired him up. "The birdies on 11th and 12th gave me a cushion and standing on 14th I told myself this was tournament to win. I wanted to take it by the scruff so to say and win. I went all out after that and went for the flags. When the birdies dropped on 14th and 15th for a three-shot lead I knew I had to play smart."
After the par on 16th and 17th, Kapur had another choice to make. "I have never played anything but this time I went for 3-Wood. Actually I don't know how to hit a 3-wood on 18th. Then when the second shot landed on fairway, I knew the win was near. I knew that par was good enough. The margin of three looks big, it till a little before that it was very tight." 10."
In the bunch for second, there was Chawrasia, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Chirag Kumar, who won this event in 2015.