El Jadida, June 8 (IANS) India’s Karandeep Kochhar continued his impressive run on the Asian Tour with a bogey-free final-round 68 to secure a top-10 finish at the USD 500,000 IGPL Bharath Classic, while Sweden’s Charlie Lindh stormed to victory with a tournament-best closing round.
Kochhar carded rounds of 66, 73, 70 and 68 to finish at 11-under-par, good enough for a share of ninth place and his third top-10 finish of the season. The result also lifted the Chandigarh golfer to 12th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit standings.
The tournament, co-sanctioned by the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) and the Asian Tour, was won convincingly by Lindh, who closed with a sensational eight-under 64 to finish at 18-under-par. The Swede, who had finished runner-up at the Kolon Korea Open in his previous start, capped off a superb week with an eagle on the 18th hole to secure a four-shot victory and move up to third on the Order of Merit.
For Kochhar, the week was another demonstration of his growing consistency. The winner of the IGPL Dubai event was outstanding from tee to green, regularly finding fairways and greens in regulation. His only frustration came on the greens, where he required at least 28 putts in each round, including 34 during his second-round 73.
On Sunday, Kochhar produced a flawless card, picking up birdies on the third, 10th, 11th and 14th holes to sign off with a four-under-par effort. He finished the tournament with 16 birdies and remained firmly in contention throughout the week.
The 28-year-old Indian, who also registered a tied-fifth finish at the International Series Japan earlier this season, will now turn his attention to next week’s USD 2 million International Series Morocco as he continues his pursuit of a maiden Asian Tour title. His only professional victory to date came on the Asian Development Tour in Egypt, a triumph that earned him full Asian Tour status.
Among the other Indian contenders, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Yashas Chandra were the next-best performers, both finishing tied for 27th at six-under-par. Bhullar closed with a 68 featuring five birdies and a lone bogey, while Yashas produced a bogey-free round of 68.
Rashid Khan finished tied 41st at three-under after a final-round 71, alongside Kartik Singh and Sachin Baisoya. Baisoya’s closing 67 featured two eagles on the par-five third and seventh holes, while Kartik endured a roller-coaster round containing seven birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys.
Shaurya Bhattacharya signed off with a 71 to finish tied 52nd, Aman Raj was tied 56th after a round of 70, while Pukhraj Singh Gill, Raghav Chugh and Udayan Mane ended the week in the lower half of the leaderboard. Amateur Jai Bahl finished tied for 67th.
At the top, Lindh produced the round of the tournament to overturn a three-shot overnight deficit. Starting the day behind Thailand’s Settee Prakongvech, the Swede surged through the field before delivering a memorable finish. With childhood friend Isaac Bondesson on the bag, Lindh reached the edge of the 18th green in two shots and rolled in a 20-foot putt from the fringe for eagle to seal the title in style.
“It feels good…feels really good. Feels like I’m still focused, but when everything settles a little bit, I will realise what I have done today. I have been playing good coming into this week, and I have been very, very excited to play golf the last couple of months, because the game has been feeling better. And thankfully, I got some good results today,” Lindh said.
American Charles Porter briefly threatened to force a dramatic finish and was tied for the lead after 17 holes at 16-under. However, a wayward second shot into a water hazard on the final hole led to a costly double bogey, leaving him tied for second with Settee at 14-under.
Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut fired a 66 to share fourth place with England’s Sam Broadhurst, while American Marcus Plunkett joined Thailand’s Poom Saksansin and Runchanapong Youprayong in a tie for sixth at 12-under.
Morocco’s Ayoub Lguirati emerged as the leading local performer, finishing tied 13th at nine-under-par.
The Asian Tour now heads to Rabat for the USD 2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco, where Kochhar and several other Indians will look to build on their encouraging performances from El Jadida.
–IANS
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