Shiv claims 3rd Asian Tour title of the year

Indiangolfer Shiv Kapur scored a four-under 67 to defeat overnight leaderProm Meesawat of Thailand by a stroke, while Gaganjeet Bhullar finishedthird after a 66 in the fourth and final round of the $500,000 Royal Cuphere yesterday.Shiv was two shots behind Meesawat on Saturday butmanaged to pull ahead of the Thai who scored a 70 that gave him afour-day total of 13-under 270 – one behind the Indian.It was35-year-old Shiv’s third title on the Asian Tour this year. He earlierwon at the Yeangder Heritage, Panasonic Open India.“It was a see-saw battle indeed. I had to come out fighting straight out of the blocks,” Shiv said in an Asian Tour release.“Ithink the tournament has a great format. It has a lot of history andI’m glad to join the illustrious list of winners,” he added. “It’salways great to win three times on Tour during the season. On top ofthat, it’s a special feeling to have my daughter here on the 18th greencelebrating my win.”Meesawat lost his advantage early at the secondhole of the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club. After pulling to theleft, Prom had to settle for a bogey at the par-three hole, while Shivknocked in a birdie.Meesawat’s further bogeys on the fifth and ninthholes handed Shiv the lead. The 33-year-old Thai managed to shake offnerves after the turn and it was all square again following consecutivebirdies on the 11th and 12th.Shiv did himself no favours when he bogeyed the 13th and 14th and in the process, handed Meesawat a two-shot lead again.TheIndian bounced back remarkably with two consecutive birdies and it wasback to a deadlock. With Meesawat bogeying the 17th, the door was leftopen for Shiv to win the Royal Cup, and he did.Meesawat nearlyforced a playoff as he narrowly missed a birdie putt at the last hole ofthe tournament. He finished the fourth round with a 70.“At the 18th, I thought he was a bit unlucky. Prom is a steely competitor and I’m lucky to come out on top,” Shiv said.“Alot of people were taking the week off. In hindsight, sometimes, goodthings happen. If I had made the EurAsia Cup team, I wouldn’t be here.It’s always great to win three times on Tour during the season. On topof that, it’s a special feeling to have my daughter here on the 18thgreen celebrating my win.“If 2018 can come anywhere close, I’ll behappy. I’ll be building on my success. After three weeks of rest andrelaxation, I’ll be back competing on the Asian Tour,” he said.Meesawat, who has finished top-10 twice in his last three tournament also lauded Shiv’s efforts. “It was a good battle with Shiv. He was playing well and I simply made more mistakes. He deserved to win,” Meesawat said.“Itwas disappointing for sure. I thought I made the putt for birdie toforce a playoff at the 18th. Anyway, it was a good tournament for me. Itis always good to end the year with a second-place finish.“For next year, I’ll continue to work hard and try to win a tournament. I’ll take two weeks off before starting on the new season.India’sBhullar carded a 66 to cement third place after a late charge. Hescored four birdies and an eagle (par-five sixth hole) against a bogey.He totalled 11-under 273 over the four days.“I had a goodtournament. I didn’t prepare much as I came straight from my wedding.Today was particularly good. I holed a lot of good putts and gave myselfgood opportunities,” Bhullar said.“I played well but obviously these guys (Shiv and Meesawat) played better than me.”Bhullar, India’s number one amateur in 2004 and 2006, claimed a silver medal in the team event at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Thailegend Prayad Marksaeng and Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang, who wonon the same golf course last year, shared fourth place.Khalin Joshi,moved up three places to be sixth following a 67, taking his total toeight-under 276. Veteran Jyoti Randhawa was tied 41st on a three-over287 total after carding a 72 on the day.