Gurgaon: South Africa’s Jbe Kruger was the last man standing at the Avantha Masters at the DLF Golf and Country Club on Sunday.
The overnight leader shot a 69 in the last round to take his total to 14-under 274 and beat Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Germany’s Marcel Siem by two strokes for his maiden European Tour win.
Australia’s Marcus Fraser and Spain’s Jose Manuel Lara shared the fourth spot at 277.
Shamim Khan got the best position for India, finishing 22nd at 283. Anirban Lahiri finished tied 23th at 284, followed by Vijay Kumar (tied 29th) and Shiv Kapur (tied 35th).
Jeev Milkha Singh’s poor run continued as he ended tied 48th alongside defending champion SSP Chowrasia.
The day also had its share of tragedy. The leader over the first two rounds and tied second after the penultimate round, Scotland’s Peter Whiteford was shown the door after being disqualified. Whiteford hit a moving ball on Saturday on his last hole. It is understood that being unsure himself, he asked his caddie whether the ball had moved. The caddie gave him a go-ahead but many viewers complained to the European Tour officials later, saying the ball had moved. The replays confirmed what they said.
Meanwhile, Kruger was an epitome of concentration the entire day. But the last two holes tested his resolve not a little. A bogey on the 17th hole meant he had to do well on the last par-5 hole, but when his tee shot fell not far from a tree things looked ominous. But the diminutive man bailed himself out through the second shot but, mind you, it was not the best of shots as the ball threatened to hit a few in the gallery. His third shot won the day for him, it has to be said. It was so precise that the ball fell within 10 feet of the hole. He played it safe to par the hole and claim the trophy.
“It’s a big relief now that I’ve won, but I think I needed all those second-placed finishes to be able to appreciate it,” the champion said after his win.
“My main goal on the Asian Tour is to win the Order of Merit as I think this win is definitely going to help me achieve that, while I’m targeting a top-60 finish on the European Tour and (to) try to get as high as I can in the world rankings.”
With the win, Kruger hauled a winner’s purse of 300,000 Euros.
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