Gurugram, Feb 26: Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat signed off as the best-placed Indians at tied 13th even as Germany’s Marcel Siem ended an eight-year wait for a fifth DP World Tour win, edging out compatriot Yannik Paul by one stroke at the Hero Indian Open here on Sunday.
Sharma, a two-time DP World Tour winner, carded a solid 68 with six birdies and two bogeys in the final round, while Ahlawat, who was tied fourth on Saturday, scored a one-over 73 as the duo ended with a four-day total of 284 at the DLF golf and country club.
While the Indians slipped out of contention after the first two days, the 42-year-old Siem was the epitome of consistency as he fired a four-under 68 to topple Paul (70) and claim his fifth DP World Tour win.
“I’ve worked really hard. It’s crazy. A second kick-start for my career,” said Siem, who last won the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge on the challenge tour in 2021.
“This means a lot because two years ago I wasn’t even sure if I could still compete on the DP World Tour, and now I’m a winner again. I think there’s more to come now.
“I was gone — lost my card, Challenge Tour, Q School — thank you so much to my whole family and my team, my sponsors.”
Joost Luiten (68) signed off at the third place, while Jorge Campillo (69) and Kazuki Higa (68) finished tied fourth at eight-under 280.
Starting the day with a one-stroke deficit, Siem birdied the fourth hole to catch up with his overnight leader Paul, who had dominated the last three days. The duo picked up a birdie each on the eighth to make the turn at 12-under.
However, Paul soon slipped to a two-shot deficit with Siem charging ahead following back-to-back birdies at the 10th and 11th to reach 14-under.
The 13th hole changed it all as Paul sank a birdie to raise hopes of regaining his edge after his rival Siem had stumbled on a bogey.
Siem, however, once again edged in front after sinking a smooth 15-feet birdie putt at the 15th, even as Paul parred.
The 42-year-old from Dusseldorf, who had won four titles between 2004 and 2014, then parred the 16th and missed a birdie after a delightful approach into the 17th.
One-shot ahead in the 18th, Siem erred a bit to find himself in the roughs but he managed to clear the water guarding the green to eventually settle for another par as Paul failed to convert his birdie putt.
He threw his hat and raised his arms in celebration after breaking a more than eight-year title drought on the DP World Tour.
India’s Angad Cheema (74), who was tied second after day 2, was left ruing his chances as he dropped a quadruple bogey in his final hole after looking good enough to grab a top-10 finish.
Cheema was six-under for the week until he stumbled on the 18th to finish at the 20th spot, sharing the place with fellow Indian Honey Baisoya, who scored a second successive 73.
For Sharma, it was a good day in office.
“Today was really good, I played quite well and hung in there. Played well on the back nine, which I’m quite happy about. Didn’t really have my best on the back nine all week, but today was quite nice. So quite happy and it’s a good way to finish the event,” he said.
“Today, I just got off to a good start, I made birdie on the first which was a good start and after that something clicked. Even though I made a mistake on the eighth, I was still able to stay within my zone and I’m particularly happy with the way I played the back nine; it was really solid.”
Veer, a two-time winner on the PGTI, said, “This finish is a big confidence-booster for me as I had missed the last few cuts on the Asian Tour and was looking for a good result at my home course this week. The ball-striking was excellent this week and I feel I now have the momentum going forward into the season.”
Among other Indians, Yuvraj Sandhu (70) finished tied 25th at even par 288, Manu Gandas (74) was tied 32nd, Sachin Baisoya (75) and S Chikkarangappa (72) were tied 37th, Kartik Sharma (75) was tied 42nd and Gaganjeet Bhullar (77) ended at tied 44th.
Veterans SSP Chawrasia (75) and Shiv Kapur (77) ended at tied 48th at six-over 294. (PTI)
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