Talking points from the Hero Indian Open

S.S.P Chawrasia of India finally won his home open after four previous runner-up finishes. Chawrasia held off defending champion Anirban Lahiri at Delhi GC.

S.S.P Chawrasia led the Hero Indian Open through 54-holes, but defending champion Anirban Lahiri burst out of the blocks in the final round with three straight birdies from the opening hole.

In the 2015 Indian Open, Lahiri had defeated Chawrasia in a playoff for the title and S.S.P must have felt an ominous sense of a repeat performance when he dropped a stroke at the sixth and Lahiri joined him at the top of he board.

But Chawrasia struck back with a birdie at the 8th and the chasing pack were unable to get back on terms with the home player from that point on. The victory was sealed when Chawrasia played a great approach to the home hole and closed with a birdie.

“I was a four-time runner-up in this event and I was thinking for a long time, 'I have to win this tournament'. That's my dream and I got it,” he said after the tournament.

3 Talking points from the Hero Indian Open

1 – This was S.S.P Chawrasia’s third European Tour title and it’s an important one. With the victory, he has re-secured playing rights on the circuit having lost them by finishing 113th in last year’s Race to Dubai.

"This is very important for me because I get a full card and most probably I'm playing the Olympics and the World Cup also so it's very, very important for me," he said.

After four second place finishes in the Indian Open, 37-year-old Chawrasia finally has a win to his name. Chawrasia has participated in 16 professional competitions at Delhi GC and his record is exceptional. He has 10 top-10 finishes and two wins over the layout.

2 – Anirban Lahiri put on an excellent defence of his title. The 28-year-old could well move back into the top-50 on the Official World Golf Ranking following his tied second place finish in New Delhi. Although disappointed not to secure back-to-back wins in the event, he was delighted for his countryman Chawrasia. “I am so happy for S.S.P. This win is huge for him,” he said. “He hung tough and played very well and I’m really pleased for him.”

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3 – South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang fired a final round of 68 to tie Lahiri for second place. He was left to rue a disappointing second round of 74 that cost him a chance of victory. At just 20 years of age, Wang looks to be a great prospect. This was by far and away the South Korean’s best performance in a European Tour event – before this week his best finish was a tie for 14th in the 2015 Malaysian Open.

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Hero Indian Open Delhi GC, New Delhi, India Mar 17-20 Purse €1,500,000, par 72

1    S.S.P Chawrasia (Ind)    67    67    68    71    273    €246,589 T2    Anirban Lahiri (Ind)    68    71    67    69    275    €128,507 T2    Jeunghun Wang (Kor)    67    74    66    68    275    €128,507 T4    Adilson Da Silva (Bra)    72    66    69    69    276    €68,356 T4    Angelo Que (Phi)        70    71    70    65    276    €68,356 T6    Gregory Havret (Fra)    68    70    71    69    278    €41,576 T6    Daniel Im (USA)        65    74    70    69    278    €41,576 T6    Rashid Khan (Ind)    69    68    69    72    278    €41,576 T6    N Thangaraja (Sri)    69    71    68    70    278    €41,576

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage