New Delhi, India, March 31: Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher staged a remarkable comeback by firing three birdies in his closing four holes to close with a one-under-par 71 and win the Hero Indian Open 2019.

It was the Scotsman’s first victory in Asia and his winning total of nine-under-par 279 was just enough to give him a one-shot triumph over Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura at the S$1.75 million event which was held at the DLF Golf and Country Club.

Starting the round with a three-shot deficit, the 44-year-old Gallacher stayed patient to overcome a roller-coaster round where he recovered from a horrible quadruple-bogey on hole seven to take home a winner’s prize purse of US$291,660.

Kawamura had the opportunity to force a play-off with Gallacher at the last but could not take it into extra time as he could only make par. The Japanese settled for second place on his own following a 73.

Local prospects Rashid Khan (70) and S. Chikkarangappa (74) finished as the highest-placed Indians in tied-10th position at the event which was celebrating its 55th edition this week.

Finland’s Kalle Samooja aced the 12th hole from 127 metres with his pitching wedge, marking the first time in the history of the Indian Open that three hole-in-ones were made in the same year.

Did you know?

·       Stephen Gallacher claimed his first title on Indian soil and fourth European Tour title this week at the event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour.

·       Gallacher fulfilled a lifelong dream by playing in The Ryder Cup in his home country of Scotland in 2014, forming part of the winning team for the European side.

·       With his son, Jack, on his his bag this week, the Scotsman hit nine fairways and 13 greens and totalled 29 putts.

·       Masahiro Kawamura finished runner-up on the Japan circuit three times last year.

·       Kawamura claimed his first Asian Tour victory at the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open in 2013 where he overcame a two-shot deficit to defeat Y.E. Yang.

·       The 25-year-old Kawamura finished tied-second at the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open last May to earn his spot at the 147th Open.

·       With his second-place finish, Kawamura moved up three spots to take third place on the current Habitat for Humanity Standings.

·       Chikkarangappa won two events on the PGTI in the last four months. He won the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational in November of last year and claimed a two-shot victory at the Golconda Masters 2019 Powered By Telangana Tourism & Incredible India last month.

·       The Bengaluru-born golfer played in his first National Open when he was a 15-year-old amateur golfer. This marks his best result at the Indian Open.

·       Rashid Khan is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. He claimed his breakthrough on homeground at the SAIL-SBI Open and won the Chiangmai Golf Classic by PTT later that year.

Ends.

March 31: Read what the players have to say following the final round of the Hero Indian Open.

Stephen Gallacher (Sco) Final round 71 (-1), Total 279 (-9)

Today the winds was swirling and the course was playing really tough. I was three behind the lead at the start of the day and got off to quite a solid start and then I hit a quadruple-bogey on hole seven. I was pretty calm at that point of time, I stood on the eighth tee and saw I was only five shots behind. I told myself to stick to the game and you never know what can happen. Especially with how hard it was playing and I came back three-under in the last four holes.

I am 45 this year so I am really proud of what I did out here today. It changes my schedule and I can play a bit less and it was great to win with my son on the bag. He has caddied for me 20 events already, and to win with him there and on Mother’s Day as well makes it even more special. It has been a great day.

Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn) Final round 73 (+1), Total 280 (-8)

The round was very good especially in such tough conditions. I wasn’t playing very well in the front nine and was struggling on a lot of the holes and I had some missed shots, but the back nine I played very well. The course was tough today but I managed to come back.

(Only the last hole) My tee shot was very good but the wind was strong and it just pushed it left. Coming into the last two holes and seeing my name on the leaderboard, I was really nervous. I knew how important the final hole was and I hit a good shot but was just unlucky. Last year I finished second three times on the Japan Tour, lost by one shot twice and once in a play-off. Now I finished second by one shot this time again.

Rashid Khan (Ind) Final round 70 (-2), Total 284 (-4)

It was pretty good week. Coming into this week I was a little bit scared because I missed the cut last year and I felt a bit of pressure to do well. I went to practice at a similar golf course the last couple of weeks and that really helped out.

Throughout the week I was hitting it really well. I only missed it on the wrong side of the green with my irons but it was the only mistake I made. But other than that, I was holing out a lot of putts and making a lot of birdies.

Ends.

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Austin, Texas, March 30: China’s Haotong Li ran out of gas at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play as he lost six and five to last year’s runner-up Kevin Kisner of the United States in the Round of 16 on Saturday morning.

The 23-year-old’s brave run at Austin Country Club ended in a disappointing note as Kisner made light work of Li, who was his own worst enemy. Kisner was three-up after an eight-foot birdie putt at the first and pars on the next two holes.

Another birdie for Kisner at the fifth from nine feet extended the lead. Li, reaching the Round of 16 for the first time in his second Match Play start, bogeyed three of his last six holes and hit just four of 10 fairways while Kisner hit 9 of 10 as the match ended on the 13^th green.

Li conceded he was running on fumes after beating Ryder Cup star Alex Noren and world number three Brooks Koepka in the group matches, before playing 19 holes on Friday following his one-up loss to Tom Lewis which required Li to play in a sudden-death playoff against Noren which he prevailed after one hole to get through to the Round of 16.

“I just couldn’t focus today. I had a couple of bad mistakes. I mean, you can’t do that in match play,” said Li.  “Like I said, ran out of energy. It’s very good experience, especially through yesterday, it’s pretty good. If I play my best golf, I can compete with everyone. So I just have to work hard and get my game going.”

The Chinese rising star, who is hoping to become the first golfer from his country to play in the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia in December, is looking forward to returning to Austin for another crack at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

“It’s a lot going on. You need to go through it and focus. It’s hard to focus. Just need to do better job next time,” said Li, who was a member of Team Asia at the EurAsia Cup in 2018.

As one in a series of four World Golf Championships events sanctioned and organized by the operational committee of the International Federation of PGA Tours, which includes the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play is one of the most exciting and biggest events on golf’s calendar.

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Julian Suri (Usa) Third round 71 (-1), Total 205 (-11)

I think a couple of the mistakes I made today where after long waits on the tee box and that was quite a long wait on 18. No excuses, totally my fault and I need to compose myself better and I think that is a bit of a learning curve for me after being out of tournament golf for a while now.

You have to be on your game at all times. Any slip up or anything can be pretty penal. I am feeling good with my overall game despite 18 there, the game feels good. I know Callum played well today. I knew that the putt on 18 was to keep a share of the lead which was big for me to make that and I will hopefully take some of that momentum into tomorrow.

It would be great to win. It would be awesome with my family history, but you know, it’s going to be a grind out there, there are a lot of people in it, and I need to go and do what I am capable of.

Callum Shinkwin (Eng) Third round 68 (-4), Total 205 (-11)

My game plan was to just stay away from the bushes. It’s so tight out there so when I do have a chance to hit driver I’ll hit it.

There were a few tricky pins out there today and I just stuck to my game plan and took the driver out when I needed to, or a two-iron if I needed to as well. It was a great ball-striking round which I am very happy about that too, just need more putts to drop. I just want to play as well as I can, if I do win that’s great, if I don’t then I know my time will come soon.

Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn) Third round 68 (-4), Total 207 (-9)

I am very happy to have come back with another good round especially with how hard conditions were today.

I had a good comeback and shot five-under-par in the back nine. Especially after the eight on hole eight. I came into this week feeling confident because I have been hitting it well. So I was pretty aggressive today and using a lot of drivers off the tee. There were some big mistakes today but there were still a lot of good recovery shots.

On hole eight I hit a good tee shot, then I hit my first shot into the water. And hit another one into the water again. It was just two bad shots in a row and I had to force myself to forget about it pretty quick. I made a good up and down to save myself.

On hole 11 and hole 18 I made two good birdies because I used my driver off the tee and had two-putt birdies. Overall I am happy with my position and tomorrow I will be attacking the pins again.

S. Chikkarangappa (Ind) Third round 66 (-6), Total 210 (-6)

Started with two birdies which gave me a good momentum. Overall, I was hitting the ball great and hit almost every fairway and made a lot of green-in-regulations today. I am very happy with the round. Seven birdies and one bogey, I’ll take that score on this course.

I’ve been having a good stretch since I won the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational, I think that was where it all started for me and it’s been going great. I am feeling good about my game and all parts of my game is going good.

I am in a good position right now and I just need to go out there and enjoy myself like how I have been doing for the past couple of months, just no expectations and play happy golf.

I started working with Lawrence from the David Leadbetter Academy and changed a couple of things in my swing and they have been working very well for me as you can see. Every week I am getting stronger and stronger and I am really happy about it.

Sihwan Kim (Usa) Third round 67 (-5), Total 211 (-5)

It was good, I had a slow start but I just kept it on the greens and made some putts. First three holes were quite bad for me since I missed all three greens. But then I got the momentum going and just started hitting it a lot better.

On hole four I made a 15-footer for birdie to kick things off, and from there I had no bogeys so that was the hole that gave me the boost I needed. The greens are a lot softer this year so I could attack the pins more and it’s a lot less windy today and way hotter so the ball is going far. Really happy with where I am, I could have made a lot more putts out there but five-under-par on this course is good.

Austin, Texas, March 29: Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand bowed out of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday, losing two-up to Scotsman Russell Knox in a match which proved inconsequential.

With Australia’s Marc Leishman easily securing a third straight win against American Bryson DeChambeau in the group to progress into the Round of 16 at Austin Country Club, Kiradech was left to pick up the pieces of a campaign which gave him plenty to think about as he prepares to head into the year’s first major, the Master Tournament in two weeks’ time.

“My short game is so bad. I can’t get up-and-down from any par-five. It’s quite disappointing this week. No birdies and then chipped in the water on 12 and make a seven to lose the hole. It’s a turnaround. And I didn’t have any confidence around the greens. I have a lot of work to do,” said Kiradech, who made it into the quarterfinals here last year.

He will take the next two weeks off to sharpen his game which has proven to be inconsistent in his first full season on the PGA TOUR. Last month, he finished tied-third at the WGC-Mexico Championship but the Thai star has missed numerous cuts as well which has left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I still have to work on my game a little bit. I’m not far off,” he said. “It’s some technique which is not right. I’ve been struggling for last two or three years. Not chipping as well as I used to do. I still have to work.

“It’s been up-and-down. I mean, I miss a lot of cuts this year. I hope I can do better but first year on the TOUR is always a struggle I guess. I just want to go again and try to get my best form back. Doing the same thing – practicing hard and playing well and hopefully I just get what I used to do,” he said.

China’s Haotong Li admitted he got ‘lucky’ as he progressed into the Round of 16 after prevailing with a three-foot birdie on the first extra hole against Sweden’s Alex Noren to emerge as the lone Asian to advance into the weekend play.

“The whole day was just like a roller coaster,” said a relieved Li.

“And I didn’t play solid. I was a little bit off with my tee shots and I think that was it. And on my final hole on 18, I was just a little bit nervous and hit it a little soft and it didn’t get enough break. Hands were a little bit tight. I felt like if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, just play good the next time.”

Li split the fairway with a solid drive in the playoff hole against Noren, whom he had beaten five and four on Wednesday, and then fired a superb wedge approach shot to three feet of the pin to secure his place in the last 16 against last year’s runner-up Kevin Kisner, who edged out Ian Poulter in another play-off to advance.

“I got lucky here (in the playoff) … honestly. I hit it a little thin and as soon as I saw that bounce, I was like, ‘God! Thanks’. I am so thankful for everything,” said Li, who lost his three group matches in his debut last year.

With a knock-out Round of 16 match against Kisner on Saturday morning, the Chinese rising star, who is a two-time European Tour winner and Presidents Cup International Team hopeful, knows he must power-up again overnight to have a chance of extending his magical run at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

“I felt like I ran out of all the energy already. I need to get something, recover and let’s see what we can do tomorrow. Hopefully I can win a few more matches,” he said.

As one in a series of four World Golf Championships events sanctioned and organized by the operational committee of the International Federation of PGA Tours, which includes the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play is one of the most exciting and biggest events on golf’s calendar.