Shivshankar Chowrasia added his name to an elite band of Indian golfers who have triumphed on the European Tour when he lifted the Indian Masters title at the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday.
The son of a greenkeeper, 29-year-old Chowrasia delighted the crowd, who had hoped to see a local winner in this inaugural tournament.
He did not disappoint as he joined Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal as the three Indians who have chalked up European Tour victories.
The triumph gave him a winner’s purse of $416,660 as well as a three-year exemption on the Tour.
Chowrasia played a brilliant short game to shoot a final round of five-under-par 67 for a four-round total of nine-under 279 and a two-stroke victory over Ireland’s Damien McGrane, who closed with 70.
Spain’s Jose Mauel Lara was third on 283 after shooting 72 in his last round with overnight leader Raphael Jacquelin, of France, settling for tied fourth on 284 with India’s Digvijay Singh.
Jacquelin, who was looking good for another European Tour victory, fell out of the reckoning with a 74.
Chowrasia, who rose from the caddie ranks, was delighted with his victory and hopes he can inspire others from his former profession to take up the game. He said on the Asian Tour website:
“Right now, my mind is totally blocked because I’m not able to think of anything. More and more caddies will now take up the game and they will also feel that they can also do well if they start playing and working at it.â€
The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and represents its first event of the season.
On the PGA Tour, 47-year-old Steve Lowery won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am after defeating Vijay Singh in the first extra hole of a play-off.
Lowery trailed Singh by three shots in the final round but hit back as both players finished on 10-under-par 278 for a tie.
Lowery then birdied the first extra hole to claim victory. It was his first tournament triumph in 14 years and he rates this one as bigger, simply because of the way he has had to fight back from difficult times. He said on the PGA Tour website:
“After what I’ve been through, the injury, at times I didn’t play very well. This is absolutely the most meaningful. This course. Over Vijay. I told my family if I win this tournament, it is because of the bounce-backs after the double-bogeys.â€
That was in reference to the two double-bogeys he had during the same third round, which he used as inspiration to launch a fightback and reel in Singh.
Lowery finished with a 68 while Singh had a 71. Tied for third were Corey Pavin, John Mallinger and Dudley Hart, all of whom ended on 279 for the tournament.
I wanted to add this insight from one of our readers that knows the Delhi Golf Club well:
I enjoyed the coverage on the European PGA website; it brought back many happy memories. Like the dozens of wild peacocks, the thousands of green parakeets, the mandatory halfway stop for sausages and drinks, the fact that the course is built on the site of an old Moghul burial area and the bone calcium in the soil rotted a newly laid metal pipe sprinkler system and the replacement plastic piping system was then eaten by the rats…! Not to mention the blind par 3 that I’m sure has the world record for aces… courtesy of the forecaddie and his active ‘leather mashie’ tap in…. followed by screams of ‘hole in one, sahib’ and a smiling hand held out for a tip when you reached the green….! Ah yes… golf is a great game, and Delhi Golf Club is a gem…
Best regards… I enjoy your help and comments.
Harry