Chonburi, Thailand, 13-12-2015

SSP Chawrasia narrowly misses British Open berth after tied seventh finish in Thailand

SSP Chawrasia came agonizingly close to qualifying for his first ever Major, the 2016 British Open, before faltering at the final hurdle at the Asian Tour's Thailand Golf Championship on Sunday.

The Thailand Golf Championship, being a part of The Open Qualifying Series, had four spots on offer for golf's showpiece event. The top four players, who finished inside the top 12 and ties and who were not already exempt, were to earn berths at The Open 2016.

Chawrasia (72-69-68-67) fired a superb final round of five-under-67 to grab a share of seventh place at 12-under-276 but fell just short of the qualification mark for The Open.

Chawrasia, who started the day in tied 14th, stormed into the top-4 with seven birdies through the first 15 holes at the Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand. At that stage, SSP, a winner of three international titles, including two on the European Tour, looked certain to become the eighth Indian to qualify for a Major.

However, bogeys on the 16th and 17th pushed him down the leaderboard and dashed his hopes of earning his Major debut.

SSP as a result finished just one shot behind the fourth and final qualifier, the 16-year-old Thai sensation Phachara Khongwatmai, who finished sixth after his final round of 66. As per the criteria for qualification, Chawrasia would’ve sealed the last berth even if he was tied with Phachara, on the basis of his higher world ranking. 

“The back-to-back bogeys on 16th and 17th really cost me a lot, in fact a spot in The Open next year,” acknowledged Chawrasia. 

He added, “If not for the bogeys, I would have made it 100% into The Open. I drove it into a thick rough on 16th and on the 17th, I hit a good shot but my approach shot went over the pin and bounced into the water. I had a good save for par on the last so overall it was alright. I had a good run from the sixth and I gave myself good opportunities for birdies.”

The first three spots at The Open went to the top-3 finishers at the event, winner Jamie Donaldson of Wales (21-under-267) and joint runners-up Lee Westwood of England and Frenchman Clement Sordet.

Among the other Indians in the field, Shiv Kapur and Arjun Atwal signed off with scores of even-par-72 in the final round to finish tied 24th at five-under-283. Rashid Khan was tied 41st at three-under-285 ahead of Gaganjeet Bhullar and Jyoti Randhawa, who both ended the week in tied 44th at two-under-286.

So far only seven Indians have played at the Majors, namely (in order of their first appearance at a Major) Gaurav Ghei, Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri.