A final-hole birdie saw Kiradech Aphibarnrat drop to his knees in celebration as he pipped overnight leader Mohammad Siddikur Rahman to the $300,000 SAIL Open title at the Delhi Golf Club course here on Friday.
After Ajeetesh Sandhu's chances of becoming the first Indian winner in four editions of the annual event suffered a blow following a bogey on the 16th hole, the Thai broke away from Siddikur for one last time on the final hole to take the winner's share of $47,550.
Aphibarnrat shot a four-under 68 to tally 16-under 272, while Siddikur, who started the day with a two-shot lead, could only manage a 71 and settled for the second spot worth $32,550. Sandhu carded a 70 to take the third place, his career-best finish in any international field. The effort fetched him $18,300.
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Worth the wait
“The putt on the last was very near but my hand was shaking! I'm just happy I won. I've waited two years for this and I'm very proud of myself,” said Aphibarnrat, who came close to winning his maiden Asian Tour title four times last year.
Siddikur took the defeat sportingly. “Overall, I enjoyed my round and losing is part of the game. I'm getting better and my confidence level is still high. Aphibarnrat played really good and deserved the win. It was his day,” said Siddikur.
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Aphibarnrat caught up with a cautious Siddikur at -14 after the Bangladeshi dropped a shot on the 11th hole. Birdies on the 12th and 14th holes gave the Thai a two-shot lead but it was all square after the 16th, where Siddikur picked up a stroke and Aphibarnrat dropped one.
At this point, Sandhu, too, bogeyed to slip to the third spot, one stroke behind the leaders. After the trio was all square on the 17th, Aphibarnrat's birdie-finish prevented a playoff.
Sandhu was happy with his work this week. “I was very solid from tee-to-green through the week. Even though I was in contention today, I just wanted to play my own game and did not think of shooting a particular number. The bogey on the 16th ended my chances,” he said.
The field, dominated by the Indians and Thai professionals, saw the home golfers take quite a few top-10 spots. Manav Jaini (fourth), Anirban Lahiri (sixth) and Jyoti Randhawa (seventh) made it quite a fruitful outing for the Indians.
The scores (Indians unless stated): Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) (68, 67, 69, 68) 272; Mohammad Siddikur Rahman (Ban) (68, 67, 67, 71) 273; Ajeetesh Sandhu (69, 67, 68, 70) 274; Manav Jaini (68, 73, 64, 70) 275; Akinori Tani (Jpn) (68, 67, 70, 71) 276; Anirban Lahiri (66, 71, 72, 69) 278; Jyoti Randhawa (70, 72, 68, 69) 279; Namchok Tantipokhakul (Tha) (72, 69, 67, 72), Joonas Granberg (Fin) (69, 73, 69, 69), Daisuke Kataoka (Jpn) (73, 69, 69, 69) 280 each; Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) (74, 68, 73, 66) 281; Gaganjeet Bhullar (67, 69, 72, 74), Mars Pucay (Phi) (69, 71, 72, 70), Rashid Khan (73, 71, 68, 70) and Niall Turner (Irl) (71, 71, 71, 69) 282 each.