India’s Chiragh Kumar emerged victorious at the Panasonic Open India Sunday after firing a two-under par 70 in the final round, clinching his first Asian Tour title.
Kumar, 31, hit three birdies against a lone bogey to end the tournament with a four-day aggregate of 13-under 275, three shots ahead of Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant and Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman.
Namchok Tantipokhakul of Thailand and India’s Jyoti Randhawa led the charge on the final day, firing rounds of 66 and 67 to finish joint fourth with Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera and Shubhankar Sharma at the Delhi Golf Club.
“Winning an Asian Tour event means a lot to me,” Kumar said.
“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.”
Kumar, who secured his Asian Tour card after finishing tied second at the Venetian Macao Open three weeks ago, parred the first four holes before a bogey on the fifth.
But he made amends with a birdie at the eighth hole to make the turn at even par.
On his way back, the Delhi golfer picked up a couple of strokes on the 11th and 13th holes to hold on to his overnight lead.
Leading scores (par-72):
275 – Chiragh Kumar (IND) 67-66-72-70.
278 – Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 68-72-69-69, Siddikur Rahman (BAN) 68-70-68-72
279 – Namchok Tantipokhakul (THA) 71-71-71-66, Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 69-72-71-67, Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 70-73-67-69, Mithun Perera (SRI) 66-70-73-70
280 – Manav Jaini (IND) 72-71-69-68, Shankar Das (IND) 69-71-71-69, Vikrant Chopra (IND) 71-68-71-70
281 – Rashid Khan (IND) 71-71-69-70