Gavin Green Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Max Kieffer ends nine-year wait for DP World Tour title at Czech Masters

Matt Smith — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 18:49:46 +0000

By Matt Smith
Germany’s Max Kieffer finally ended his near-decade-long wait for a maiden DP World Tour as he triumphed at the Czech Masters on Sunday.

Making his 249th appearance on the Tour, Kieffer carded a six-under 66 to finish one stroke ahead of Gavin Green at Albatross Golf Resort.

Kieffer started the day four strokes behind Green, who led after 36 holes as the tournament was reduced to three rounds due to heavy rain on Saturday. He made a fast start with six birdies in his first 11 holes and recovered from a bogey on 15 with his seventh gain of the day on the 17th hole as he took the lead for the first time on 16-under.

The 32-year-old had previously finished runner-up on four occasions, losing out in two play-offs, one of which was decided after a marathon nine holes in his rookie season in 2013. Extra holes were on the horizon as Green, who was one under par for the day, was just one stroke back as he played the 18th hole.

The Malaysian stuck his approach shot to 10 feet but his birdie putt agonisingly lipped out, handing Kieffer his first victory and his nation’s first DP World Tour title since Marcel Siem won the BMW Masters in 2014.

Green recorded his best finish on the DP World Tour since 2017 as he finished second on 15-under, while South Africa’s Louis De Jager and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen, who was runner-up at this event last year, shared third on 14-under.

“You’re thinking ‘I want to be ready’, in case he makes birdie you want to be ready,” Kieffer said of a potential playoff with Green. “You expect him to make birdie, you don’t want other people to miss putts but when the guy from the TV said: ‘You’ve won it,’ the feeling was ridiculous. It will need a few days.

“I just love golf. I just love to play golf. Even if I hadn’t won, I’ve still had a great life, I still enjoy playing golf. Now to win, that’s even better. You just have to keep trying. I had a few difficult years where I didn’t play, this year I feel like I’m playing very well. But, deep down, you never know in golf. I’m just so glad and I’m really going to enjoy it.

“To be honest I felt really calm and confident all day. I had a good feeling. I had a great warm up and I was ready to attack today. I thought I’d need at least another birdie because Gavin was at 17-under. I tried to be aggressive on 17. When I saw he was back to 15 and I had a putt for the lead, which I made, then on 18 the nerves kicked in. At the tee shot I was thinking I may not make contact with the ball, but I hit a great shot, then I had a good yardage for the second shot and it was nice to see the full shot in there and I made a nice putt there also.

“It’s got to be hard work. Hard work and keep going, always keep grinding. You have good days, bad days, you have to enjoy the good days and on the bad days you dig deep and keep going.”

The post Max Kieffer ends nine-year wait for DP World Tour title at Czech Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

DP World Tour: Gavin Green in hunt for maiden title once more in Czech Masters

Matt Smith — Sat, 20 Aug 2022 10:18:00 +0000

By Matt Smith
Gavin Green stormed into a three-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the D+D REAL Czech Masters after carding a nine under par 63 at Albatross Golf Resort.

The Malaysian, searching for a maiden DP World Tour victory, made a sublime start to his round as he eagled the tenth hole, his first, and then birdied the 11th, 12th and 14th to race up the leaderboard.

His fourth eagle of the week came on the first hole and birdies on the final two holes saw him finish with a 14 under par total, opening up a three-stroke lead over Richard Mansell, Thomas Pieters and Marcel Schneider in the Czech capital.

Pieters is bidding for his third win in the space of just nine months and a hat-trick of D+D REAL Czech Masters victories after claiming the title in 2015 and 2019. The Belgian added a four under par round of 68 to his opening seven under 65 to remain near the top of the leaderboard.

Mansell, who finished in a share of fourth at last week’s ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics, and Schneider, who won in the Czech Republic at last year’s Kaskáda Golf Challenge on the Challenge Tour, joined Pieters on 11 under par and the pair are both aiming to secure their first wins on the DP World Tour.

In a share of fifth on ten under par are Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer, who carded a six under round of 66, and first-round leader Louis de Jager of South Africa.

“I played solid,” said Green. “I hit good drives and kept it in play all day. Didn’t take any crazy risks and on some holes we played to the fattest part of the green, took our two putts, and on some holes we went for it. It paid off nicely.

“I went to see my coach after Barbasol or Barracuda and we did a small tweak and that has helped me and made me more consistent. It’s still a work in progress, it’s a step-by-step kind of process and I’m trying to hit good shots. If it happens it happens and hopefully the bad shots aren’t really bad. We’re just trying to keep it in play, take chances where we can and make some putts.”

The post DP World Tour: Gavin Green in hunt for maiden title once more in Czech Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Asian Tour: LIV Golf star Patrick Reed surges back as Green tames Tampines course on Day 2 at Invitational Series Singapore

Matt Smith — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 10:02:07 +0000

By Matt Smith
There was drama all across the leaderboard at the Asian Tour International Series Singapore as Gavin Green fired another stunning round, while pre-tournament favourite Patrick Reed bounced back on the Tampines Course at Tanah Merah Country Club.

Malaysian star Green continued to show he is on the comeback trail after posting his second-successive bogey-free seven-under 65 to take the clubhouse lead on 14-under at the inaugural $1.5 million International Series Singapore.

He leads by three from another of the region’s finest young players — LIV Golf star Phachara Khongwatmai from Thailand — who shot a 66. India’s Veer Ahlawat and Yoseop Seo of South Korea are one stroke further back on 10-under, while on England’s Steve Lewton holed his approach shot for an eagle on the par-five 18th to return a 68 and sit fifth.

Gavin Green. Asian Tour

Green, the 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, has struggled with his game over the past few seasons but appears to be back on track after two brilliant days.

“Obviously [ball] striking has to be pretty good on this golf course, you have to keep it in play, you can’t miss too many shots,” said the 28 year old, on another day of searing heat and humidity. “You have to place your approach shots on certain parts of the green because they are so slopey. And even when you are on the green it’s a tough two putt. My caddie and I have a good game plan. We have worked hard, really hard, over last few weeks. It’s a great feeling being back in contention again. I am not thinking about that past, I am not looking at leaderboards, I am just doing my thing.”

The 2018 Masters champion and LIV Golf superstar Reed bounced back from his opening 73 with a 68 to climb to three-under.

“I just put the ball in position on a lot of holes, especially early on but I didn’t make any putts – just burned the edges and when you are doing that around here it is hard to shoot low,” said the American. “I definitely need to shoot a really low one tomorrow. I feel I’m doing what I’m supposed to from tee to green, but I need to capitalise on a couple of par fives and holes like eight and nine here. And I need the ball to go in with putts.

“I feel like I’m hitting a lot of good putts, my speed was decent today, and yesterday it was actually great, but it is one of those days that instead of the ball going in, it is lipping out and burning edges. If I can get the putter going early on, and hopefully get the momentum going then there is no reason I can’t shoot a mid to low 60s round and have a chance.”

Overnight leader Scott Vincent — another favourite on the LIV circuit — had a torrid time and shot a 73 to slip back to a share of eighth spot on seven-under.

The post Asian Tour: LIV Golf star Patrick Reed surges back as Green tames Tampines course on Day 2 at Invitational Series Singapore appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Ryder Cup pals McDowell and Dubuisson set for Saudi showdown

Kent Gray — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 16:19:24 +0000

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
McDowell plays his second shot after a wayward drive on the 18th at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club on Saturday. He would go on to birdie the hole and earn a one-stoke lead at the Saudi International.

By Kent Gray
Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson will be reunited for the first time since their Ryder Cup heroics in 2014 with seemingly only one player close enough to upset their personal duel for the Saudi International on Sunday.

McDowell rode his luck with the putter to fire a four-under 66 on moving day at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club which played tough courtesy of blustery winds off the Red Sea and tightly tucked pins. The Northern Irishman, at -12, will take a one-stroke buffer over Dubussion into the final round after partnering the Frenchman to two foursomes points as Europe secured a third successive Ryder Cup win at Gleneagles.

Dubuisson signed for a bogey-free 65 while Malaysian Gavin Green, three adrift at -9 after a 70, looks the most likely to upset the McDowell-Dubuisson narrative. Defending champion Dustin Johnson, after starting the third round with four successive birdies before cooling off to an eventual 68, is one of three players at -7.

World No.1 Brooks Koepka (65) and Phil Mickelson (68) at -6 can’t be discounted either but six strokes back, the marquee Americans will have to go deep on Sunday and hope McDowell, Dubuisson and Green come back to them.

After dropping a shot on the 8th to cancel out a second hole birdie, McDowell’s putter came to the rescue. A 20-footer to save par on the 9th was followed by two fluky birdie putts from the fringe on 12 and 13, the former clattering pin, the latter an absolute monster on Royal Green’s toughest hole, before another gain on the 14th.

A wayward drive on 18 threatened to tarnish a terrific back nine but the 2010 U.S. Open champion recovered with a sumptuous approach to six-feet from 180-yards out for a closing birdie.

“My putt on nine was massive as I’d just bogeyed eight and the putter was cold,” McDowell said afterwards. “Those are the putts you look back on the round and say ‘that was the one’.

“The two putts from off the green on 12 and 13 are just massive bonuses at that point. You can’t expect to make those type of putts. Conditions were very tough today so I’m very pleased with that back nine.”

He’s at it again!@Graeme_McDowell #SaudiIntlGolf pic.twitter.com/56NFzIyfxZ

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 1, 2020

The last of McDowell’s 10 European Tour wins came at the Open de France in July 2014. He’s won twice on the PGA Tour in the intervening five and a half years including an event in the Dominican Republic last March. He’s converted 10 previous 54-hole leads into five wins.

Dubuisson owns a pair of Turkish Airlines Open titles (2013 and 2015) but has slid down the world rankings from a high of 15 to 478th, his lowest position since 2011.

A wrist injury that kept him sidelined for all but one event in 2018 is partly to blame and seems so too was the set of irons he’s been playing the past two years.

Dubuisson went bogey-free on Saturday. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

“I had a long chat with my coach after Abu Dhabi because it was the first time he came to the whole tournament, so he saw me play the whole four days and he said, ‘It’s not possible, your swing is good. Last year your swing was very good, it’s not possible that you hit the ball like this’.

“So I decided to take my old set of clubs that I was using two years ago from TaylorMade and I found my game into the wind again, so I’m quite happy now.”

Green was unable to match the heights of his opening rounds of 64 and 67 but is just happy to be in the hunt for a maiden European Tour title after battling to a level-par 70 on Saturday.

“It was brutal out there and couple of pins, they were tucked so far in corners,” said Green. “All we did was play to the middle of the greens and just try and take our two-putt and make par. Because par is a good score today.”

The post Ryder Cup pals McDowell and Dubuisson set for Saudi showdown appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Graeme McDowell and Gavin Green fire 64s for share of Saudi lead

Kent Gray — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:36:37 +0000

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Green acknowledges the gallery on the 13th green during the opening round of the Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club on January 30, 2020, in King Abdullah Economic City.

By Kent Gray
A bolstered agronomy team of 50 have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure Royal Greens Golf & Country Club is presented in immaculate condition for the 2nd Saudi International. Roped in from eight nations, together the greens-keeping staff have poured 4000 man-hours into course prep for the $3.5 million European Tour event and have even used scissors to trim the grass just so.

It has been greeted with almost universal approval from this week’s star-studded field with former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and Asian Tour star Gavin Green the most appreciative on Thursday after earning a share of the first-round lead at the Desert Swing event. The 26-year-old Malaysian, who won the Taiwan Masters en-route to topping the Asian Tour order of merit in 2017, rode a hot and cold putter to an early 64 which McDowell matched later despite a double-bogey on his card.

After creating tour history with a 96-minute, final round 75 at last week’s OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, Sebastian Soderberg went significantly slower and 10 strokes better to grab a share of second place alongside Swedish compatriot Henrik Stenson and Dubai-based Spaniard Adri Arnaus.

A gaggle of seven players, including debutant Phil Mickelson and Englishman Tom Lewis who was T-3 in Dubai, are a shot further back after 66s while Lucas Herbert showed little signs of his promised hangover after winning the Desert Classic with an opening 67, a score matched by Saudi defending champion Dustin Johnson.

After getting it to -2 early, world No.1 Brooks Koepka signed for an even-par 70 after four back-nine bogeys were sweetened by a birdie on 18. Fellow American Ryder Cupper Patrick Reed went birdie-less in a three-over 73.

They are all looking up at McDowell and Green on a day when 50 players bettered par..

Graeme McDowell reacts to a shot during the opening round at Royal Greens. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Playing in the company of Mickelson, McDowell opened with a par before rattling off four successive birdies. He closed with a hat-trick of gains from the 15th with his only blemish a double on the par-3 11th.

Green’s six-under loop was also blighted by a back nine wobble with three-putt bogeys at 12 and 14.

“Played solid. Really just a few mistakes here and there, which is pretty normal. A couple of pretty big par saves, and a couple of mistakes, a couple of three-putts, which was tough to take in because I was playing well and I was playing solid. Just a couple slipped off,” Green said.

“You know, it’s the nature of the game. You just have to live with it and move on, and that’s what we did. We closed off strong, birdied 16, 17. Had a look at 18. Had a nasty little lip out but it is what it is. I’ll take it. Six-under’s good.”

Indeed.

Like Green, Stenson also enjoyed his opening round on greens that a better for an extra year of growth and care.

“That was some good putting,” said the 43-year-old who is searching for his first European Tour win since claiming the claret jug at the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Toon.

“I contributed most of it to the putting today. Still a struggle off the tee at times and the rough is pretty thick. Had to scramble well on a couple of holes, but the approach shots that were close I converted into birdies and kept it together nicely, so very pleased with that.

Stenson tees off on the par-4 17th during the first round at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

“The greens are rolling much better this year. They are quicker, more top-dressed and not as grainy, so I think everyone’s happy with the improvements on the greens. You feel like you’re more used to the conditions that we’re playing here this week than maybe the ones we had last year.”

A bit like playing in the UAE where you’ve enjoyed so much success, Henrik?

“Not really. I think this golf course is a lot different compared to the ones we played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and Qatar over the years. Paspalum, different grass, but it’s still kind of desert style. When you miss it badly, you’re kind of out in the desert, and certainly tried that once or twice, as well. Maybe a little bit, but all in all, just a good opening round.’

Johnston mixed five birdies Thursday with two bogeys but was relatively happy with his first round 67 since Jan.5 when he finished T-7 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to open the new PGA Tour year.

“I felt like I played pretty well. Just the three-putt on 17 was bad. I just missed a short one and then lipped-out a pretty short putt on 3 for par. Those were the only two bogeys. So really wasn’t out of position too much. I felt like I drove it pretty well. Hit a lot of good shots. 3-under is a solid score. I feel like the golf course is much more difficult this year than it was last year, just because the rough’s up, and the greens are a little faster.

“You have to attack the course differently this year for sure just because you can’t play out of the rough. Whereas last year, it was no problem. And so yeah, definitely played a few different clubs off the tees just to try to get it in the fairway.”

The post Graeme McDowell and Gavin Green fire 64s for share of Saudi lead appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

After early struggle, the real Phil Mickelson returns with a back-nine paved in red

Kent Gray — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:35:15 +0000

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Mickelson plays out of trouble on the 13th hole during the opening round at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club on January 30, 2020, in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

By Kent Gray
After a topsy-turvy outward nine played in 37 strokes, Phil Mickelson’s Saudi International debut was teetering on the brink of no return at two-over-par on Thursday. In King Abdullah City fresh from a pair of missed cuts to open the new PGA Tour calendar year, the 49-year-old needed to conjure some old Lefty magic to ensure he didn’t have too far to climb to make the weekend at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, much less contend.

On cue, the world No.86 suddenly became the streaky version of “Phil being Phil” as he roared home in 29 strokes to sign for a four-under 66 and an overnight share of 8th place, just two strokes adrift of co-leaders Graeme McDowell and Gavin Green.

Mickelson’s inward nine was paved in red with a cluster of three birdies from the 11th-13th and three more from 14th to 16th incredibly intersected by a bogey. But there was also a final gain on 18 as the 44-time PGA Tour winner and 2013 Open Championship hero played his way into contention.

“Yeah, it was a great back nine,” Mickelson said in the understatement of the $3.5 million European Tour event thus far.

“Part of the challenge for me is that I feel like I’ve been playing well but mentally I haven’t been as sharp. I haven’t been visualising and I haven’t been seeing the shot clear. It was certainly evident early in the round where I made a couple of shots that weren’t that hard that I made difficult.

“But the back nine, things really started to come together. Meaning I hit a lot of good shots. I started making the putts, and made a lot of birdies, and it was just a good back nine that gave me a good chance heading into tomorrow. I feel like my game is a lot sharper than I’ve been scoring, so it was nice having that back nine.”

There are few better than Mickelson when his putter warms up, as it proved late on Thursday.

“Hit a lot of good shots and made the putts. It’s not like the putts are easy. The greens are rolling beautifully but factoring the wind and the break and so forth, it wasn’t the easiest. It was a fun challenge, and just continued to kind of be patient.

“There was one on maybe 14 — 13, kind of up off the tier and fell in. That was really fun because I haven’t really made a good, long one like that, and I didn’t expect to make that one, and it just kind of circled in. That’s a cool feeling to see those go in.”

Mickelson enjoyed being pulled along by playing partner McDowell too.

“Certainly seeing how easy he made the course look, is encouraging, knowing that, yeah, you can do it. The way he was playing, so steady and solid, and even with one little hiccup, he still shot a round of 6-under par in tough conditions. It’s very impressive.

“The great thing about this golf course is that it’s playable in tough conditions. So if you hit good shots, you get rewarded. It’s not always beating you up, but you have to hit really good shots to have them pay off in these type of conditions. I think without the wind tomorrow, we’ll be able to be more aggressive in the morning and make some more birdies than we did today.

“It will play easier, but you still have to hit good shots and make putts to make birdies.”

The post After early struggle, the real Phil Mickelson returns with a back-nine paved in red appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

John Daly grabs a share of the lead at the Czech Masters with a bogey-free 64 (yes, we’re serious)

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 23:20:43 +0000

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

By Ryan Herrington
The field at the European Tour’s D+D Real Czech Masters is a hodgepodge of sorts. There are a smattering of veterans who didn’t qualify for the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs (Danny Willett, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington) and a handful of players trying to improve their chances at making Thomas Bjorn’s Ryder Cup squad (Thomas Pieters, Eddie Pepperell), but the lion’s share of those teeing it up are rank-and-file golfers simply trying to play well enough to avoid having tour Q school.

Oh, and then there’s the lion himself. Yep, John Daly is competing.

And competing well we might add. The 52-year-old finished Thursday’s first round tied for the lead after posting a bogey-free 64—his lowest round on tour since he shot a 62 in the final round of the 2009 UBS Hong Kong Open.

John Daly’s lowest round on the European Tour for 10 years ?#CzechMasters pic.twitter.com/OHHx3haUv7

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 23, 2018

Joining Daly in first through 18 holes at Albatross Golf Resort in Prague are Pieters, Gavin Green and Callum Tarren.

The last time Daly played in a non-major European Tour event was this time last year when he played in the Made in Denmark tournament and then the Czech Masters (their order is reversed this year). He missed the cut after rounds of 74-73 at the later, but in Denmark he opened with a 67, shot a third-round 65 and finished T-10, his best showing on the tour since 2012.

A week ago, Daly played at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open on the PGA Tour Champions, shooting a 73-77 before withdrawing prior to the final round on Sunday in upstate New York. It was the fourth senior event that he has WD’d mid-tournament this season (out of 11 official starts), a year in which he suffered a knee injury after being in an accident in which a car hit the RV he was in selling merchandise during Masters week in Augusta. Daly also withdrew before even hitting a shot at the U.S. Senior Open, upset that his request to ride in a golf cart had been denied. (And he withdrew from the Open Championship at Carnoustie as well.)

“It’s been one of those years where I’ve been hitting it really good, I’ve just been injured and having to pull out,” said Daly, who does also have three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour Champions in 2018. “I don’t feel great but I got around today and I just played solid golf and it’s great.”

Where we’re going with this is that despite being in first place through 18 holes, there’s a chance Daly might not even still be playing by Sunday. So it’s important to savor shots like this one while you can:

Vintage John Daly…#CzechMasters pic.twitter.com/jPAUSjzGAg

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 23, 2018

The post John Daly grabs a share of the lead at the Czech Masters with a bogey-free 64 (yes, we’re serious) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Brooks Koepka’s eight-under 64 gives him one stroke lead in China at the WGC-HSBC Champions

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 13:36:13 +0000

SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 26: Brooks Koepka of the United States lines up a putt on the ninth green during the first round of the WGC – HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on October 26, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

By Christopher Powers
Brooks Koepka hasn’t missed a cut since last April at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he failed to play the weekend for the third time in four weeks after opening with rounds of 78 and 70.

Two months later he won the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, and followed it up with a T-6 in his next start at the Open Championship. Since then though, Koepka has had just one other top-10, and hasn’t really come close to a win, or dominating the field like he did at Erin Hills.

Thursday’s opening-round eight-under 64 has Koepka a little bit closer, giving him the solo lead in the WGC-HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China. Despite finishing with seven birdies and an eagle, the former Florida State standout thought it could have been played even better.

“I felt like I left a lot [out there],” said Koepka, who is playing in his first event of the 2017-’18 season and making his first start since competing in last month’s Presidents Cup. “I three-putted from 3½ feet, and had another four-footer I missed, had a couple that just burned the edge. But I mean, I played really well. You can’t make everything.”

Koepka’s three-putt came at his 12th hole, the par-4 third, where he made his only bogey of the day after making four birdies and an eagle over the previous seven holes. He wasted no time getting that shot back with a birdie at the par-3 fourth, and picked up two more birdies on his way in at the seventh and eighth.

“It doesn’t really bother me,” Koepka said of his lone bogey. “I could make 9, 12, or I can make an ace, it’s not really going to change anything. Still trying to shoot the best score you can and grind it out.”

It’s just Koepka’s second appearance in the WGC-HSBC Champions, the first coming a year ago where he entered outside the top-20 in the official world golf ranking and finished T-40. This season, he comes in holding the 11th spot and could make his first career breakthrough into the top-10 with a win.

Malaysia’s Gavin Green and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat are just one back of Koepka after carding seven-under 65s. Green’s round was bogey-free, while Aphibarnrat’s featured 10 birdies and three bogeys.

Two shots behind Koepka is fellow U.S. Presidents Cup teammate Patrick Reed, whose bogey-free 66 matches his opening-round score at last week’s CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, where he tied for 11th. He’s in search of his sixth victory on the PGA Tour, and his first since the 2016 Northern Trust at Bethpage Black.

The post Brooks Koepka’s eight-under 64 gives him one stroke lead in China at the WGC-HSBC Champions appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Defending champ makes it look easy with repeat win at Hero Indian Open

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 08:27:24 +0000

By John Huggan/Golf World

The cautious manner in which the now two-time champion, S.S.P. (Shiv Sankar Prasad) Chawrasia, played the final hole of the Hero Indian Open at the DLF Golf & Country Club aptly told the story of a somewhat wacky week and underlined the eccentricities of the Gary Player-designed layout.

Without ever leaving the fairway on the rock, rough and water-strewn 624-yard par 5, the diminutive Calcutta-native teed-off with a 3-wood, then hit sand wedge/8-iron/sand wedge to the green en-route to completing a seven-shot victory with a two-putt bogey 6.

And there’s more. On the previous hole, Chawrasia’s blind approach struck the massive rocks beyond the putting surface and rebounded safely onto the putting surface.

In contrast, his playing partner, Gavin Green of Malaysia, saw his second shot hit the railroad ties supporting the bank of a bunker and careen off into the spectacularly rocky hazard short and right of the green. Little wonder then that only seven men were under par at the end of an eventful four days in the Indian capital of New Delhi. And little wonder then that play was painfully slow, one understandably disgruntled competitor reporting that it took four hours to complete 12 holes on the rain-affected third day.

Still, none of the above should detract from the beautifully controlled performance put in by Chawrasia, one of the shorter hitters on the European circuit. That closing bogey was one of only six dropped shots recorded by the 39-year-old four-time European Tour champion. Remarkably too, all four have come both in his home country and the same city. The Delhi Golf Club was the scene of Chawrasia’s victories in the 2008 Indian Masters and 2016 Hero Indian Open. And now he has two wins at the DLF, the first the 2011 Avantha Masters.

Having predicted a winning score of 10-under-par at the beginning of the week, Chawrasia proved himself prescient as well as proficient by hitting that mark exactly with his closing 71. No one else was close. Green was alone in second place, one shot ahead of Scotland’s Scott Jamieson and former BMW PGA champion Matteo Manassero. Two of the only three players in the field ranked inside the world’s top 100—Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain and India’s Anirban Lahiri—were in the group of three tied for fifth spot.

SSP Chawrasia gained 275,828 points and made a massive jump in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, moving from 194th to 18th position as he targets a debut appearance in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship from November 16-19 at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai

“I’m winning back-to-back so I’m really very happy,” said Chawrasia, who entered the week as an 80-1 shot with the (for once) surprisingly generous bookmakers.

“This is a very tough course, so I’m just trying to play straight and to the right place. I played very consistently this week. After driving [on the 18th] I was thinking, Now I’ve won the tournament. I know on the 18th hole, driving is very, very tough.”

So, of course, was just about everything else.

The post Defending champ makes it look easy with repeat win at Hero Indian Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.