Chowrasia tied 17th; Manassero triumphs
SSP Chowrasia carded a disappointing one-under 70 in the final round but was the best-placed Indian at tied 17th in the Barclays Singapore Open golf tournament here on Sunday.
Chowrasia (70, 69, 71, 70), playing his final two rounds alongside Louis Oosthuizen, was the only Indian to improve his position in the final round.
He finished at three-under 281 and it was his third top-20 finish on the European Tour this season.
“I was a bit unlucky on that triple bogey on the par-5 seventh hole in the third round. I had to go back to take my tee shot as no one seemed to have seen it fly over the fairway into the water,” said Chowrasia.
“But I am happy that I was able to fight my way back despite that,’’ he added.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, who admitted to fatigue of playing 11 weeks and the long Sunday, shot a 72 in the final round after a 69 in third.
Shiv Kapur (72) also dropped from tied 13th to tied 22nd at three-under 281 but Anirban Lahiri (78) who had one triple, one double and four other bogeys and only two birdies, suffered a dramatic drop from tied fifth to tied 37th at one-over 285.
Jyoti Randhawa collapsed with a 81 and dropped even more from tied 26th to 63rd at eight-over 292.
Italian teenager Matteo Manassero and 2010 Open winner Oosthuizen delivered a dramatic finale amid a setting sun on a dry but humid Sunday. Manassero won his third European Tour title beating the more experienced 30-year-old South African on the third play-off hole and he will now possibly defend the title under a new sponsorship next year.
Manassero, the European Tour’s youngest winner -- he won at 17 years in 2010 -- and Oosthuizen first played 33 and 31 holes respectively, to arrive at the same result of 13-under for 72 holes. They then played out another three holes.
Adding further excitement to the final day was Rory McIlroy’s stunning eagle on the 18th for a card of 65 which not just got him sole third at 10-under but also ensured he would top the European Order of Merit to complete a double after having topped the PGA Money List earlier on.
The Indians, who finished the third round in the most promising manner, wilted on the marathon Sunday.
