Anirban Lahiri battled fatigue and rivals at the same time and ended in a tie for fourth after being just one spot away from the top overnight at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) on Sunday.
Lahiri, starting the day at nine-under, opened the day with a bogey on par-5 first and struggled through the day for a final round of 73
Also finishing fourth was Indo-Swede Daniel Chopra (72), while Rashid Khan, winner of the SAIL-SBI Open had a good week with a final round of 71 that helped him finish in top-10 at tied eighth with a total of four-under 284. Jyoti Randhawa (72) was tied 31st at one-over 289 and Rahil Gangjee with two double bogeys slipped to 77 and was also tied 31st.
Also slipping on the final day was Chiragh Kumar, whose eventful card had four birdies, five bogeys and two double bogeys.
Prom Meesawat of Thailand meanwhile captured a long-awaited second Asian Tour victory after defeating Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines on the second extra hole. Prom’s first Asian Tour win was in Korea in 2006.
Lahiri stays second on the Order of Merit, with $ 3,08,590 and David Lipsky winner at the Omega European Masters is at $ 6,45,770 holding a big lead.
Lahiri felt that tiredness hit him as he mixed his card with four birdies against five bogeys.
“It was a mixed week - good and bad. I was nowhere near my A-Game or even my B-Game. I made a lot of mistakes but it is still a good week. I really feel that another win is really close. I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing,” said Lahiri, who finished tied-13th in Switzerland last week.
Prom forced a play-off when he birdied the last hole for a three-under-par 69 to tie with overnight leader Tabuena (71) in regulation play on 11-under-par 277 in the $500,000 Asian Tour event.
After shooting matching pars on the first play-off hole, Prom needed three shots to safely find the par-five 18th green before sealing the win with a two-putt par as Tabuena narrowly missed his par putt at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.
Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuna settled for third, one-shot from joining the play-off, following a 69 while rookie Paul Peterson (69) of the United States, Daniel Chopra (72) of Sweden and Lahiri finished tied for fourth on 280.
Trailing by two shots heading into the last day, Prom produced a battling performance highlighted by four birdies including a clutch 15 feet birdie on the last hole. His only blemish of the day came on hole six.
“I’ve been waiting for this win for a long time! I am really glad I made it. Hopefully I won’t have to wait another eight years to win again! I will be aiming for a third win now and try to boost my ranking on the Order of Merit,” said Prom, who won $90,000.
It was a case of third time lucky for the Thai, who is nicknamed the Big Dolphin due to his burly physique and because he hails from the coastal town of Hua Hin, as he lost in a play-off at the Resorts World Manila Masters and Hong Kong Open last year.
“This is my very first win in a play-off! I tried to keep a clear mind when I went for the play-off. I tried not to think about anything else. It’s been a difficult day for everyone but I stayed patient.”
The 19-year-old Tabuena was disappointed to drop a crucial shot on 17 after bouncing back from two early bogeys with four birdies on holes nine, 12, 13 and 16 which put him in the title mix.
