Kapur sparkles; Ormsby triumphs

Shiv Kapur had the best performance among Indian golfers as he finished fourth at the Panasonic Open which concluded at the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday.

There were seven Indians who finished in the top-15 as Australian Wade Ormsby won his maiden Asian Tour title with a final round of one-under-par 71 to pip Thailand veteran Boonchu Ruangkit by one stroke to get richer by $54,000.

Kapur was in contention till three holes from the finish before he ran into trouble on 16th and 18th and dropped shots on both to drop to fourth, while SSP Chowrasia (68) made a valiant bid only to end up fifth alongside defending champion Digvijay Singh, who carded four sub-par rounds.

Shamim Khan, who barely made the cut, continued his great work over the weekend following up his third round 67 with a final round of 69 to be tied eighth, while Rahil Gangjee, with five birdie on the front nine, carded 68 to be tied 10th with local lad Manav Jaini (72) and Siddikur at three-under.

Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing, who led briefly during the final round, settled for third place after carding a level par 72 while Kapur’s search for a first win on his home course was extended after he bogeyed two of his last three holes to finish three shots behind Ormsby in fourth position.

Ormsby, who held at least a share of the lead from the opening day, birdied the second hole but stumbled badly with a seven at the next hole.

However, the Aussie showed great character by shooting birdies on the fifth, seventh and eighth holes to stay in the title hunt.