Khalin Joshi T15; Westwood wins

Khalin Joshi was the best placed Indian, finishing T15 at the Indonesian Masters

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Khalin Joshi was the best placed Indian, finishing T15 at the Indonesian Masters

 

Report by Anand Datla

 

April 26, 2015: Khalin Joshi has been an impressive presence this week at the Indonesian Masters. And after spending most of the week inside the top 10 of the star studded field, he finished tied in 15th despite suffering some damage in the final round. Rashid Khan also had a rough final round to slip down to 35th from his overnight position just outside the top 20. Interestingly, despite a five shot lead, Lee Westwood also needed the weight of his experience to edge past Chapchai Nirat in a tense playoff to clinch his third Indonesian Masters title.

 

Khan suffered a double bogey at the par-3 seventh hole besides giving away shots at four other holes where he made bogeys. Birdies at the ninth and 18th helped him gain some consolation, but it was too little to address the damage to his card. Having come with high hopes to Jakarta, Rashid will know that he is a better golfer than the 69-79-69-76 total of 5-over 293 might suggest.

 

Joshi had a poor front nine and that cost him dearly. A pair of consecutive bogeys – the first at the 4th and 5th and then another at the 7th and 8th set the Indian back rather badly. He also made two birdies on either side, but a fifth bogey at the par-4 13th hole meant that he had a final round 73. Khalin was T15 with an even par 288 that earned US$ 9,500 in prize money.

 

In a strange coincindence, Angad Cheema, Abhijit Chadha – who was second after the first round – and Chiragh Kumar finished together at 11-over 299 in T55.

 

England’s Westwood fended off a spirited challenge from Thailand’s Nirat by defeating him at the first play-off hole complete a successful trip to Asia. The former world number one’s bid to claim his hat-trick of titles at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event was secured when he birdied the play-off 18th hole as Chapchai, a four-time Asian Tour winner, could only make par.

 

“There are a lot of good players on the Asian Tour now and the standard is getting higher on this Tour and it’s harder to come over here and win, especially today. It’s nice to come back and play with them on their own Tour where they get to show everybody in Asia how good they are. To come to this tournament this week and win it three times is obviously extra special,” said Westwood.

 

The Englishman appeared to be cruising towards an emphatic victory until two successive bogeys on 16 and 17 blew the title race wide open. He had the opportunity to win with a birdie at the last but misread the green and was forced to settle for a par and a four-day total of seven-under-par 281.

 

Despite falling short in his bid for the Indonesian Masters title, Chapchai remained upbeat about his season ahead. The Thai, who holds the world 72-hole scoring record, surmounted a late charge by storming up the leaderboard with seven birdies and one bogey to force Westwood into a play-off.

 

The 31-year-old found trouble when his second shot landed in the bunker during the play-off. After hitting out from the bunker where his ball would land about 10-feet away from the pin, Chapchai could also make par, handing the advantage over to Westwood, who would go on to sink his decisive birdie putt.

 

“When I started out, I told myself a top-three finish would be fantastic, considering how good Lee has played this week. Getting into the play-off was a bonus and I’m very proud of myself despite the defeat. I managed to sort out my putting this week. And that’s important as it’ll help in the long season ahead,” said Chapchai.

 

Select Scores

281 – Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) 69-74-65-73, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 68-74-73-66.

*Westwood defeated Chapchai at the first play-off hole with a birdie

282 – Kalem RICHARDSON (AUS) 75-70-70-67.

283 – Thomas BJORN (DEN) 66-76-71-70.

284 – Y.E. YANG (KOR) 73-71-69-71.

288 – Khalin JOSHI (IND) 71-76-68-73.

 

 

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