Indian golfer S.S.P Chawrasia struggled with a two-over 72 in the final round to finish tied seventh after leading for the first three rounds of the $2 million UBS Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club here on Sunday.
Chawrasia, who had a one-shot lead at the top coming into the fourth round, was sailing smoothly, making three birdies till he got a triple-bogey on the par-four ninth hole.
He then recovered to get a birdie on the 10th hole but four bogeys out of the next five holes destroyed his title challenge. He got a birdie on the 16th to settle for a 72 which took his four-day total to eight-under 272 (65-66-69-72).
"I was playing well today. I started very good, and then made a triple bogey on nine and from then on, I kept dropping shots. But overall, I managed to make a comeback. I had a couple of putts missed, but that's all right. It's part of the game," Chawrasia said in an Asian Tour release.
"There are three events more to play and there's a good chance for me on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. It's not over yet at least for the Order of Merit title."
The winning total of the tournament was 11-under 269 and it belonged to Australia's Wade Ormsby, who overcame a one-shot deficit by closing with a two-under 68.
Despite a late bogey at the last hole, the 37-year-old Australian could still afford to clinch the UBS Hong Kong Open by a single shot as none of his nearest rivals could surmount their late challenge to dislodge him from the top of the leaderboard.
It was sweet relief for Ormsby as his last win on the Asian Tour dated back to 2013 and his victory at the Hong Kong Golf Club was also his first on the European Tour after 263 starts.
American Paul Peterson produced a late charge but his closing 10-under-par 270 total was not enough to force a play-off with Ormsby and he had to settle for a share of the second place together with compatriot Julian Suri, Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello and Sweden's Alexander Bjork.
Among other Indians in the fray, Shubhankar Sharma was 10th after a 67 took his total to seven-under 273.
Rashid Khan was tied 31st on two-under 278 total, while Mukesh Kumar finished tied 62nd with a total of five-over 285.
--IANS
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