By Rahul Banerji
Shiv Kapur and Shubhankar Sharma lit up Sunday with stellar performances at virtually opposing ends of Asia even if they fell just short of the big prize at the end.
In Chachoengsao, Kapur was involved in a three-way title play off in the Thailand Open which American John Catlin won on the first shootout hole after missing a chance to close out the issue in regulation play.
And at the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, Shubhankar finished tied seventh alongside Robert MacIntyre of Scotland after the first six all finished on identical 20-under totals to go into a play-off as well.
In both cases, it was a dramatic recovery.
At the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course in Antalya, Shubhankar had two spectacular rounds sandwiching two flat cards, his rounds reading 71, 64, 71 and 64 for an 18-under total of 270.
On both the days he was eight under, Shubhankar was bogey free and in all, the Indian star had 26 birdies and a final day eagle as well, against four bogeys and three doubles. He will climb significantly after this display, up 20 spots to 61st in the Race to Dubai.
‘Good comeback’
“You saw how I played yesterday and I was able to come back today, I knew I had to play well and was under pressure today to perform and am happy I was able to do that,” Shubhankar told golf writer Joy Chakravarty after his final round 64.
“On this course everyone was going three, four or five under by the day so I knew I had to put a good number on the board. Eight under is a very good score and I’m not sure I could have played it any better.
“I knew I would have to get a good score to get an entry into next week (in South Africa) so over pleased to do that. This week I knew I had the game because I was playing well these past few weeks and I know it would come back to me.”
“It was important to stay in the game and keep trying and I’m happy I was able to do that this week.”
At the top, England’s Tyrrel Hatton emerged winner over Mattias Schwab of Austria after a fourth playoff hole in the course of which they first got the better of Kurt Kitayama (US, third hole), Frenchmen Herbert Benjamin and Victor Perez (second hole), and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen (first hole).
Tight finish in Thailand
In Thailand, American John Catlin secured his fourth Asian Tour win by birdieing the first play-off hole to see off Kapur and Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert on Sunday.
The Hua Hin-based Catlin was drawn into the shootout after all three carded 11-under par 273 after the regulation 72 holes. Kapur and Pavit returned matching 65s to tie Catlin, only to falter at the very end of the $300,000 event.
For overnight joint leader Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia, Sunday was something of a let-down as his 1-over 72 on the day left him in a tie for sixth place alongside four others.
Ajeetesh Sandhu was tied 11th, Jyoti Randhawa T14th, Viraj Madappa T21st, and young Aadil Bedi overcame two indifferent rounds to sinish with a solid 67 and a share of 48th place.
“It was a good round,” Kapur said later. “No fireworks early on, just started pretty steady on the front. I actually made a pretty soft bogey on the ninth, that was little disappointing and I got to the 10th and said to my coach who’s on the bag this week, I said let’s just start firing at some flags.
“And I went on to make birdie on 10 and 11 and then got stuck in a divot on 12 and made bogey there. But then after that I made a really good birdie out of the rough on 13. And on 14 I had a wedge in my hands and holed it.
“It was when I holed that putt on 15 that I started thinking, oh now I have a chance to go for the title in this tournament.
“There were lots of positive vibes here. I had a lacklustre season prior to this week so this result will give me a lot of confidence heading into the remainder of the season. It’s a great boost for sure.”
Happy venue
According to the Asian Tour’s fact-file, Kapur has had previous success at the Thai Country Club, winning the 2005 Volvo Masters of Asia and finishing tied-second at the Thailand Open in 2017.
Kapur’s best year on the Asian Tour was 2005 when he finished fourth on the Order of Merit. He was also crowned the rookie of the year that season.
The 2017 season was also one to remember for Kapur as he won three Asian Tour events: the Yeangder Heritage, Panasonic Open India and the Royal Cup.
Before this week, Kapur only one top-10 finish in the season, at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open with a tied-10th result.
Kapur won the first edition of the 2017/2018 Panasonic Swing thanks to his Panasonic Open India win and his tied-second place finish at the Thailand Open in 2017.
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