New Delhi: Matt Wallace birdied the first play-off hole against fellow Englishman Andrew “Beef” Johnston to win the Indian Open on Sunday.
Wallace went for the green in two on the play-off hole, the 18th, needing only 20 feet for an eagle. Johnston laid up and had a longer putt for birdie, which he missed, and Wallace won when he tapped in from a foot.
“Since being 3-over through 8 in my first round, I’ve played some off my best golf,” Wallace said.
Johnston shot a final-round 66, Wallace a 68. They finished with 11-under totals of 277 at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Sihwan Kim of the US finished third after a 68, three strokes behind.
Hometown favourite Shubhankar Sharma faded on the back nine with a 75 to finish seven shots behind.
Sharma and Wallace shared the lead after the third round. But Sharma bogeyed two of three holes on the back nine, including a double-bogey 7 after an out-of-bounds tee shot on the 15th, to end his chances of winning his third European Tour event of the season.
Sharma already had a victory of sorts this week: He received a special invitation to play in the Masters at Augusta.
The 21-year-old Sharma held the 54-hole lead in his first World Golf Championship appearance last week, in Mexico. He finished tied for ninth after a closing 74. He was ranked No. 462 in the world three months ago when he shot 61 in the second round and won the Joburg Open.
He closed with a 62 last month to win the Malaysian Open, making him the only two-time winner on the European Tour this season.
