For 32 holes stretching again to Saturday, Rashid Khan’s pole place remained largely unchallenged. Chasing his third win on the Asian Tour, the 32-year-old house contender met his match within the closing holes with Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena snatching a one-stroke win in fading gentle to stroll away because the DGC Open champion.
It had appeared like a simple closing day in Rashid’s bid for a win for the higher a part of the day. But it surely changed into a see-sawing contest on the opposite facet of a 77-minute climate interruption – rain halted the competition on Saturday too — as Tabuena caught up with Rashid and went forward, the 28-year-old changing into the primary Filipino since 1969 to win in India.
Ben Arda, a nine-time winner on the Asian Tour, was the final man from the Philippines to take prime honours in India when he received the Indian Open at Kolkata’s RCGC.
Holding a three-shot lead in a single day, Rashid solely managed a good par 72 on Sunday whereas Tabuena shot an excellent, bogey-free 65 to complete 12-under for the event. Ultimately, bogeys on the fifteenth and seventeenth holes damage Rashid with a birdie end proving solely good to complete second, one shot away from Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat (10-under). S Chikkarangappa (8-under 280) and SSP Chawrasia (bogey-free 7-under 281) completed fourth and fifth respectively.
Rashid had a sedate begin, not like the rousing Day 3 he had. His first birdie arrived solely on the par-5 eighth gap earlier than he went one-over on the again 9. Six photographs behind the chief to start out the day, Tabuena’s nice momentum, capped by back-to-back birdies on the fifteenth and sixteenth carried him previous Rashid.
“I do not really feel I used to be conservative or too protected immediately. Had I been ultra-aggressive, I’d have carded far worse,” Rashid stated. “The important thing on this course is driving and that’s one space the place I fell quick immediately. I used to be driving effectively on the observe tees however simply couldn’t belief the turf.”
In contrast to Rashid, Tabuena, who went bogey-free within the first spherical too on the slender fairways, fired three birdies on the entrance 9. Progressively climbing the leaderboard, he got here into his personal after the climate interruption, the birdie on the fifteenth leaving him one shot behind the chief. Rashid missed a par putt on that gap and the bogey allowed Tabuena to catch up. The 28-year-old nudged forward on the following gap with a decisive birdie. He missed a three-footer for one more birdie on the 18th, however the 4 birdies on the again 9 had delivered the win.
“It is very arduous to go for the flag from the tough right here. I advised myself to only maintain being stable off the tee and my putter has been fairly scorching for the previous few tournaments. I additionally capitalised on the par-5s via the event,” stated Tabuena.
With two difficult holes to go, wresting again his place was going to be powerful and a bogey below stress on the seventeenth extinguished hopes of victory.
“I needed to go for it. I used to be attempting to hit my 8-iron and I thinned it once more and ended up making a bogey,” Rashid stated. An eagle on the 18th would have nonetheless compelled a playoff in a redux of final yr, however a birdie is all he managed.
Making it an general effective day for India have been Gaganjeet Bhullar (69), Om Prakash Chouhan (72) and Honey Baisoya (72), who have been all tied for sixth at six-under 282 together with Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai (69).