Mumbai: Jeev Milkha Singh battled through a neck sprain to record his personal best finish of fourth, but the Indian Open truly belonged to Chinese Liang Wen-Chong, who clinched the $1 million Asian Tour event in a thrilling finale in New Delhi on Sunday.
Overnight leader Wen-Chong (70) fell a stroke behind Australia's Darren Beck (65), who was tied 12th after the third round, but came back strongly to record a sensational birdie-birdie finish and grab the title by a stroke with a total of 16-under 272.
Australian Adam Blyth (72) completed the top-three at 13-under 275.
"This is a very important win for me. My second Asian Tour title (after Singapore Masters last year) and it proves that my skills have improved," Wen-Chong said after his win that left him richer by $158,500.
Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa had a another wretched day in the greens, turning in a 74 that left him tied 57th with an overall two-over total.
But Jeev made sure that the local fans had something to cheer about and turned in a steady 69 in the final round to finish 12-under despite being hampered by a stiff neck. The Chandigarh-pro pocketed US$ 49,300 for his fighting effort.
"I was contemplating pulling out in the morning. When I woke up and went to the course, I felt my neck to be very stiff. My physio then fixed it for me. She put some tapes around and I took some really strong painkillers to get rid of the discomfort," a relieved Jeev said.
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