Shiv Kapur best Indian at T-32
New Delhi, Oct 19: England’s Tommy Fleetwood was an epitome of calm and composure as he fired a brilliant seven-under 65 to clinch the inaugural DP World India Championship title with a two-stroke win over Japan’s Keita Nakajima here on Sunday.
In a gripping final round, Fleetwood, who started the final day two shots behind, displayed his trademark poise under pressure, fending off a spirited charge from New Zealander Daniel Hiller (69) to finish with a total of 266 to lift the title.
It was Fleetwood’s eighth DP World Tour victory and his first in India. The Englishman had earlier featured at the 2016 Hero Indian Open and the 2012 Avantha Masters.
Fleetwood celebrated his win by hugging his son and reveals how a wish from his son inspired his superb win.
“Another win feels great,” he said.
“We were at home last week and we were driving the buggy playing golf together and he just said randomly – ‘Do you know what you’ve never done? You’ve never won a tournament and then I’ve been able to run onto the 18th green,” he added.
Nakajima carded a three-under 69 to finish second at 20-under 268, while Shane Lowry (68), Alex Fitzpatrick (67) and Thriston Lawrence (65) shared the next spots on the leaderboard.
Among Indians, Shiv Kapur turned in the best performance, firing five birdies and a bogey on the front nine before parring out to return a four-under 68 and finish tied 32nd at nine-under.
Anirban Lahiri endured a topsy-turvy round to sign for a one-under 71, while Shubhankar Sharma carded another two-over 74 – matching his opening day score – to share the 56th spot at three-under.
Dhruv Sheoran returned an even-par 72 after five birdies and as many bogeys to slip 11 places and finish tied 36th.
Fleetwood, who was the leader at the halfway mark on day 2, kept his composure, adding birdies on the 14th and 17th to close at 22-under – two clear of Nakajima, who also picked up birdies on the 12th and 17th but couldn’t bridge the gap. (PTI)
