American Dodge Kemmer fired a brilliant last round of six-under 66 to register a three-shot win at the Gurugram Challenge 2022 hosted by Classic Golf & Country Club.
Kemmer ended with 23-under 265 to finish ahead of Thailand's Chanat Sakulpolaphaisan (68), who took second place at 20-under 268.
The 17-year-old rookie Arjun Bhati, playing only his second event after turning professional, had the best finish among the Indians as he took a creditable third place at 18-under 270. Arjun's final round of 66, along with winner Kemmer's round, was the day's joint best score.
Kemmer (67-66-66-66), lying one shot off the lead in second place after round three, shot a third straight 66, a bogey-free round, to come home the winner on the windiest day of the week.
The 34-year-old Dodge, who had almost missed his tee off in round three after having trouble finding transport to the course, took the lead early in the day with birdies on the third and fourth holes even as overnight leader Rory Hie of Indonesia dropped a double-bogey on the third to drop down the leaderboard.
Kemmer, who turned professional in 2010, then pushed ahead with two crucial birdies on the seventh and eighth. He chipped out from the trees on the seventh before sinking a six-footer. Dodge made a long conversion on the 13th for another birdie before driving it close to the green on the 15th to pick up his sixth shot of the day.
Asian Tour regular Kemmer's success ratified his decision to stay on for the event after last week's The DGC Open presented by Mastercard, where he finished joint 49th.
"It was a great decision!" said Kemmer. "I like being in India, it was an easy choice. Obviously, a win is always good and good for the confidence and gets me in a good place on the ADT list in case I need that to stay on the Asian Tour next year.
"I saw on the forecast it was going to be windy and I noticed a lot of the pins yesterday and they were definitely the hardest of the week so I didn't have a number in mind or expectations but I knew that scores would probably be higher, just with the wind and the pins, and so probably played a little more conservative if anything into the greens and that definitely paid off as I didn't have any bogeys, which is a great way to have a final round," he was quoted as saying in a release.
Chanat Sakulpolaphaisan (66-67-67-68), who was overnight tied third, shot a flawless 68 in round four to rise one spot to second place. He chipped in for a birdie on the fifth.
Arjun Bhati (70-66-68-66) mixed seven birdies with a bogey during his 66. He began his day with a 30-feet birdie conversion on the first hole that set up the round for him.
Arjun said, "I'm very proud of my effort this week. Scoring 18-under is a huge confidence booster for me. It's a dream start to my career. I putted really well this week."
Indonesia's Rory Hie, the leader for the first three days, carded a 73 on Friday to finish tied fourth at 17-under 271. India's Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (67) and England's Joshua Grenville-Wood (68) also took a share of fourth place.
Source : IANS