Matt Wallace yesterday birdied the first playoff hole against fellow Englishman Andrew “Beef” Johnston to win the Indian Open.
Wallace went for the green in two on the playoff hole needing only 6m for an eagle. Johnston laid up and had a longer putt for birdie, which he missed, and Wallace won when he tapped it in from less than 1m.
“Since being three-over through eight in my first round, I’ve played some off my best golf,” Wallace said.
Photo: AFP
Johnston shot a final-round 66, Wallace a 68. They finished with 11-under totals of 277.
Sihwan Kim of the US finished third after a 68, three strokes behind.
Hometown favorite Shubhankar Sharma faded on the back nine with a 75 to finish seven shots behind.
Sharma and Wallace shared the lead after the third round, but Sharma bogeyed two of three holes on the back nine, including a double-bogey seven after an out-of-bounds tee shot on the 15th to end his chances of winning his third European Tour event of the season.
Sharma already had a victory of sorts this week: He received a special invitation to play in the Masters at Augusta.
The 21-year-old last week held the 54-hole lead in his first World Golf Championship appearance in Mexico. He finished tied for ninth after a closing 74. He was ranked No. 462 in the world three months ago, when he shot 61 in the second round and won the Joburg Open.
He closed with a 62 last month to win the Malaysian Open, making him the only two-time winner on the European Tour this season.
Taiwan’s Chan Shih-chang finished 25th with three over, up from his 34th place finish in the Maybank Championship last month.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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