New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) India’s Digvijay Singh closed with a flawless six-under-par 66 to end an agonising 12-year wait for his maiden Asian Tour golf title at the Panasonic Open India here Sunday.
Singh produced a grandstand finish with a 12-foot birdie putt to defeat Asian Tour winners Siddikur of Bangladesh and Gaganjeet Bhullar of India by two shots at the $300,000 event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI.
Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit rolled back the years with a 67 to finish in fourth place while overnight leader Ashok Kumar was in contention before dropping four shots in the last six holes at the Delhi Golf Club. He ended his campaign in tied eighth place.
“This is very special for me. There’s no feeling better than winning an Asian Tour title in India at the Delhi Golf Club. I’ve won on the local circuit before but this takes the cake,” said Digvijay, who totalled 11-under-par 277 to win US$47,500 and two return business Turkish Airlines tickets to any destination in Europe.
Singh, who was three shots back at the start of the day, came charging home with a superb back nine highlighted by birdies on holes 13, 14, 16 and 18 to the delight of the home crowd.
“The 13th hole was the turning point that got me going. I made my second birdie of the day on hole seven and couldn’t convert anything until the birdie on 13. From then on, the birdies starting flowing in,” he smiled.
Bhullar, a two-time Asian Tour winner, was in contention for most of the round but had to settle for second as he tipped his hat to Singh, who he said was the deserving winner.
“Digvijay played incredibly. He deserved this long awaited victory. It is all part of the game but I felt I could have done a little better. I will accept this finish and go with the flow because I’m playing well again after a long time,” said Bhullar, who mixed his card with three birdies against one bogey for a 70.
Sanjay Kumar and Shankar Das had the next best result among the Indians as they ended tied fifth at six under 282. Sanjay Kumar’s 65 was the best score of round four. Anirban Lahiri, who also fired a 65 on Sunday, was placed tied eighth along with Ashok Kumar at five under 283.
