He came, he saw, he conquered. India’s Khalin Joshi roared back and produced a dramatic finish when he fired four birdies in his closing five holes to sign for a four-under-par 68 and clinch his maiden Asian Tour title by one shot at the US$400,000 Panasonic Open India on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

                                                     Khalin Joshi produced a superlative performance 

 

 

Despite dropping two bogeys in this opening three holes, the 26-year-old Joshi withstood stifling pressure to bounce back with six birdies on his way home, including a seven-footer on the last to hold off the challenge of Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman, at the Delhi Golf Club.

 

 

Joshi, who held a share of the overnight one-shot lead thanks to a superb third-round 64, would match the lowest winning score of the tournament with his four-day total of 17-under-par 271 in the event, which celebrated its eighth edition on the Asian Tour this week.

 

 

 

 

                                                                The final leaderboard

 

 

Delhi expert Siddikur fell short of his title bid after missing a 10-footer birdie putt on the last to settle for a par and a closing 69. He ended the week in second place on his own to mark his best result so far this season.

 

 

Young Thai talent Suradit Yongcharoenchai and Ajeetesh Sandhu of India shared third place on 274 following respective rounds of 69 and 70 while Aman Raj, also of India, recorded his career-best result on the Asian Tour after carding a 69 to settle a further shot back in fifth

 

 

As Joshi equaled 2017 champion Shiv Kapur’s best winning score of 17-under, to emerge champion, Siddikur Rahman (69) was second, his third runner-up finish at Panasonic Open and fifth Top-10 at the event in last five starts.

 

 

 

 

Ajeetesh Sandhu (70), T-2 last year here, had one unlucky bounce on the 14th, which ended in a bogey and he Tied-3rd at 14-under with Suradit Yongcharoenchai (69). Aman Raj, 23, who still does not have full playing rights on the Asian Tour, finished sole fifth, which was his best finish on the Asian Tour, bettering his T-16 at the same event last year.

 

 

Teenager Kshitij Naveed Kaul, 17, got his pro career off to a great start as he shot 68 in the final round to tie for sixth with Jazz Janewattananond (68) and Matt Stieger (69). Veteran Mukesh Kumar (68) and M Dharma (71) were T-10, while Karandeep Kochhar (68) and Sachin Baisoya (73) were T-15th.

 

 

Indians, once again, had a great week with six finishers in Top-14 and eight in Top-16.

 

 

Starting with a share of the lead, Joshi fell back with two bogeys on the first and third. And then he plugged the leak with six birdies and no more bogeys. He stayed firm and steady over the last 15 holes, and more so on the back nine, as others fell by the way side.

 

 

 

Defending champion Kapur (72) was T-24th, while Jeev Milkha Singh, who hosts an invitational event next week in Chandigarh, after a 69-68 start faded over the weekend with 75-76 and finished T-47th.

 

 

Getting more kids into Golf

 

 

 

 

                                               Khalin Joshi at the Panasonic Open

 

 

In an exclusive interaction with 4moles.com, talented Golfer Khalin Joshi, enthused, “It’s important to attract kids into the game of Golf. The key to keeping your children entertained is to keep the game short. Maybe a 9-hole tournament can help! More Golf clinics, with lots of fun elements, should be organised to lure the kids into the game of Golf.”

 

 

Day 1: Sandhu, Tapy a stroke behind Thai Suradit; seven Indians among top 15 at Panasonic Open

Day 2: Ajeetesh continues hot streak as Thailand’s Suradit stays on the top at Panasonic Open 2018

Day 3: On fire, India’s Khalin Joshi shares lead with Bangaldesh’s Siddikur at the Panasonic Open India 2018
 

(Source: Asian Tour)