Alex Fitzpatrick sneaks past erring Eugenio Chacarra to win Hero Indian Open title

New Delhi: A day that began with Eugenio Chacarra firmly placed in a four-stroke lead and needing to just hold his game steady, turned into a disaster by the end as a series of bogies pushed him down to second position and catapulted Alex Fitzpatrick of England to a two-stroke win at the Hero Indian Open that concluded at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Sunday.

Despite having an inconsistent day, the Spaniard Chacarra managed to stay par for the course till the 14th hole and keep a one-stroke lead going into the final four holes -- him at 10-under and his nearest competitor Alex Fitzpatrick, boosted by birdies on the 11th, 12th and 13th, at nine-under.

But then the 15th, 16th and 17th holes saw Chacarra land bogeys. He failed to reach the green after hitting the bunker on the 15th, missed a small (2-3 feet) putt on the 16th and went beyond the green on the 17th.

While he was floundering, the Briton Fitzpatrick whose brother Matt won at the PGA Tour just last week, picked birdies on the 15th and 17th holes to take a four shot lead.

The motley crowd that had been waiting for Chacarra to raise his arms in triumph at the 18th green, had suddenly had to encounter the unexpected sight of Fitzpatrick entering the 18th hole with a four-stroke lead. Golf is, besides cricket, also a game of uncertainties. Fitzpatrick double-bogeyed but the lead that he had built up was enough to help him win the title and take home the winner's purse of 3,75,811.55 euros (Rs 4.11 crore).

Chacarra wound up with a par score on the last hole after missing the birdie putt on the last hole following a brilliant shot to green off the fairway, to lose by two strokes.

"I wouldn't say there's many brothers apart from the Hojgaards that that can say both brothers have won on tour, which I think is really cool. I am extremely lucky to have someone who's got so much knowledge of the game and so much experience that is just a call or a text away. I should probably use his information more than I do, but at the end of the day, he's still my brother and I'm very lucky," said Fitzpatrick after the game.

The going wasn't that easy. Going into the final day's play at six-under after scoring a level par round on Day 3, Fitzpatrick suffered early setback through bogeys on Holes No. 3 and 4.

But then reeled off a flurry of birdies -- eight on the remaining 14.

"There were probably a few words that I can't repeat that was going on in my head," he said about his state of mind after those two bogies.

"But it's a real tricky one. The two bogeys I made, I felt like I didn't hit a bad shot. A decent iron shot on three that kind of just another foot forward or foot back and I would have a shot to the pin. It was just got to be so patient and hope that we can kind of stick around long enough to see what happens coming down the stretch."

Besides patience, Fitzpatrick narrowed his energies and focus on just winning the title.

He said he was so focussed that he almost lost track of what he was earning from his efforts.

"I almost didn't realise that I was doing okay just because every shot was so hard -- that was kind of all you focused on. So I made a good birdie on um I think it was six. I've done okay on that hole this week, which is nice because that was a hole I wasn't looking forward to. And good save on seven and then just holed a couple good putts for the next few holes. I hit it in the bunker on nine and thought I could make 10 here. So that was always nice and that's probably going to be the best shot I hit all year out of that bunker on nine. So again it was just keeping yourself in it and hoping for the best and seeing where that leaves you at 16, 17, 18."

Tags : Alex Fitzpatrick, Eugenio Chicarra, Golf, Indian Open,