Hoey eighth behind Chawrasia in Hero Indian Open
NEW DELHI, INDIA: S.S.P Chawrasia of India holds the Hero Indian Open trophy at DLF Golf and Country Club. Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Michael Hoey closed with a 75 to finish tied eighth behind home hero SSP Chawrasia in the Hero Indian Open.
The Ballymoney man, 38, was tied for fourth with a round to go, albeit six strokes behind Chawrasia on three-under-par after three successive 71s.
But he bogeyed the sixth and ninth in the final round at the DLF Golf and Country Club’s Gary Player Course and then followed his solitary birdie of the day with further bogeys at the 15th and 17th.
Despite his disappointing final round, Hoey won €37,182 and is now 117th in the Race to Dubai with €45,342 from two starts this season.
Paul Dunne, who missed the cut in Delhi, is 55th with €126,205 from nine events.
Defending champion Chawrasia took a two-shot lead into the final round when he broke free with a third round 68 on Sunday morning.
He then went on to win by seven strokes from Malaysian rookie Gavin Green (75), carding a 71 to finish on 10-under-par and make history by becoming the first Indian to successfully defend a European Tour title.
According to the European Tour:
He also continued a remarkable record at his national Open, where he was runner-up four times before finally triumphing last season.
The home favourite started the day in a share of the lead at DLF Golf and Country Club but had moved two shots ahead of Spain’s Carlos Pigem when the third round of the weather-delayed tournament was completed on Sunday morning.
The 38-year-old never looked in any danger of relinquishing his hold on the trophy during the afternoon, eventually signing for a one-under par 71.
Dropped shots on the sixth and seventh holes did not ruffle the composed home favourite, who immediately responded with back-to-back birdies, before adding another on the 13th to all but ensure the win.
Relentless.#HIO2017 pic.twitter.com/ZZuQQUcPE8
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 12, 2017
Another dropped shot on the 18th failed to take the shine off an impressive week, as he sealed his fourth European Tour title with the highest winning total to par (278) of the 2017 season so far.
Rookie Gavin Green took second place at three under par. The Malaysian lit up the tournament during the third round on Saturday with a stunning six birdie streak, to seal a 65 and the lowest round of the week, but his challenge faltered with a final round 75 that included five bogies.
Scott Jamieson of Scotland (72) and Italy’s Matteo Manassero (73) were tied for third place at two under par. Meanwhile, there was heartbreak for Pigem who double-bogeyed the 18th to sign for a 78 and drop back into a share of fifth place at one under par alongside 2015 winner Anirban Lahiri (71) and the highest-ranked player in the field, Rafa Cabrera Bello (71).
Spaniard Cabrera Bello completed a round that distilled the highs and lows many players experienced on the challenging Gary Player course this week. A potentially damaging run of two bogies and a double-bogey from the fifth hole was immediately cancelled out by an eagle and two birdies.
SSP Chawrasia
“I feel great as it’s one of the toughest courses I’ve played, and winning by seven shots, I’m really happy. Honestly, this is very special to win back to back. I think this is one of the toughest courses I’ve played in my career.
“I’m not comfortable on the course, I’m nervous on every single shot. When I finished the third round, I knew I had a few shots lead into the final round. I didn’t need birdies, I was just aiming for pars in the final round. I learned many things this week and hopefully I can play better in Europe. That’s my target next, I have to win in Europe.
“On 17, I was thinking I’m not hitting it short, I have to hit over the green and maybe hit the stone and come back. Luckily it did. After bogey on 6 and 7, I was on borderline and I had to make some birdies and I got a bit serious and I managed to come back.
“After the tee shot on 18, now I feel I’ve won the tournament. I struggled a bit on the greens, but I made some good up and downs and good putts. I hit some wrong lines but maybe next year, it’ll get better. It’s still a tough course.”
You don't see this every day... pic.twitter.com/sNprvC53ZE
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 12, 2017
Gavin Green
“I came into the week not hitting it that well. My goal was to make the cut but I somehow found something in the second round and the third round and it clicked well. Fortunately, it was learning again today. SSP played great and hats off to him.
“Hopefully more of these will come, I was just thankful I was able to play in the final flight and perform decently and not just throw it away. It’s a huge thing for me and a big learning curve.
“I’ve got no more pressure for me and it’s a huge improvement from my point of view as I’ve been struggling to play in the weekend. I just haven’t been able to finish it. To finish second in such a big event is such a huge thing."
Scott Jamieson
“The front nine was good yeah, I had a couple of funny shots in there as well, particularly on six, but managed to make a few birdies. They dried up a bit on the back nine.
“The key whenever you are in trouble is just to make sure that a bogey is the worst you’re going to make and pick up some birdies when you can. I was probably a little bit timid on some of my birdie tries that didn’t quite make the hole, but it was a good week.”
Matteo Manassero
“I’m happy with the way I played. It was really tough out there. The greens are tricky. I putted good until yesterday, and this morning as well. This afternoon I just couldn’t get the rhythm going. This has been happening to me a little bit lately, but I just stay patient and I know that at one point they are going to fall. So, I’m still really happy with my week and looking positively to the future.
“A top five finish is always positive, I’m really happy with that. I came here after three weeks break. It could have paid the price for not playing so much lately and focusing on improving a few things technically and being more in the gym. I take this week as very positive.”
Rafa Cabrera Bello
“It’s been one of those crazy days. It’s a bit of a summary of the week really. There has been some brilliant stuff in the game and then some horrible stuff. Obviously I fight until the end and had a good comeback after the mistakes.
“After the first seven holes today, I am definitely happy with a top ten. At the start of the week I would have liked to have played a bit better and be challenging for the win.”
Anirban Lahiri
“I’m disappointed I got so far out through the first two rounds that I couldn’t really challenge. Having said that, SSP would have been hard to beat seeing the way he is playing. I’m happy with the way I fought back. The third round got me into this position and I’m happy to finish strong.
“I missed a lot of shots, just put myself in bad positions. This course, you can’t really do that. Having played four rounds here, if I were to come back for another event, I would definitely be better prepared.”
Scores
278 S Chawrasia (Ind) 72 67 68 71,
285 G Green (Mas) 72 73 65 75,
286 S Jamieson (Sco) 70 74 70 72, M Manassero (Ita) 68 73 72 73,
287 C Pigem (Esp) 69 73 67 78, A Lahiri (Ind) 76 73 67 71, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 73 73 70 71,
288 Michael Hoey (Nir) 71 71 71 75, D Horsey (Eng) 66 74 76 72, G Coetzee (RSA) 73 74 69 72,
289 E Molinari (Ita) 75 72 73 69, P Angles (Esp) 73 70 77 69,
290 J Fahrbring (Swe) 73 74 69 74, P Meesawat (Tha) 72 74 70 74, N Kimsey (Eng) 72 77 73 68, D Boonma (Tha) 75 72 72 71,
291 P Uihlein (USA) 72 75 68 76, L Jensen (Den) 70 77 73 71, J Smith (Eng) 75 73 72 71, A Knappe (Ger) 75 74 72 70,
292 A Da Silva (Bra) 73 77 75 67,
293 K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 73 73 74 73, P Saksansin (Tha) 76 74 72 71, W Ormsby (Aus) 73 76 73 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 70 78 76, C Hanson (Eng) 76 72 69 76, C Kumar (Ind) 73 75 71 74, S Tiley (Eng) 70 74 74 75,
294 M Siem (Ger) 70 76 71 77, A Que (Phi) 70 74 74 76, D Chia (Mas) 70 69 81 74, S Gallacher (Sco) 70 73 78 73, D Frittelli (RSA) 72 72 80 70,
295 R Langasque (Fra) 69 75 80 71, S Vincent (Zim) 74 74 72 75, C S (Ind) 72 76 75 72, G Havret (Fra) 70 74 72 79, J Janewattananond (Tha) 71 79 74 71,
296 A Lascuna (Phi) 75 75 73 73,
297 S Sharma (Ind) 72 76 71 78, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 72 80 74, D Im (USA) 74 72 79 72,
298 S Khan (Ind) 74 74 73 77, S Walker (Eng) 70 75 77 76, P Marksaeng (Tha) 73 74 78 73, S Chan (Tpe) 74 75 72 77, G Bhullar (Ind) 74 74 76 74, D Brooks (Eng) 73 71 75 79,
299 M Nixon (Eng) 74 74 72 79, R Gonzalez (Arg) 72 78 74 75,
300 R Wattel (Fra) 79 71 74 76, N Fung (Mas) 73 75 73 79, S Gros (Fra) 74 75 74 77, M Tabuena (Phi) 73 72 83 72,
301 A Atwal (Ind) 74 76 72 79, S Norris (RSA) 76 74 77 74, P Peterson (USA) 70 72 81 78, A Sandhu (Ind) 73 77 77 74, A Wall (Eng) 70 78 78 75,
302 N Colsaerts (Bel) 74 76 78 74, D Singh (Ind) 77 70 75 80, D Kullar (Ind) 76 74 76 76, T Khrongpha (Tha) 77 71 78 76,
303 J Randhawa (Ind) 75 70 79 79,
304 L Weber (Fra) 75 72 85 72,
306 N Bertasio (Ita) 67 80 76 83,
308 R Khan (Ind) 73 76 78 81,
309 R Fernandes (am) (Ind) 72 76 84 77,
310 A Chadha (Ind) 76 73 79 82
