Stephen Gallacher wins Hero Indian Open

Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher birdied three of his last four holes to win the Hero Indian Open by a single shot from Masahiro Kawamura of Japan.

Stephen Gallacher wins Hero Indian Open

Stephen Gallacher won for the first time in five years on the European Tour. He claimed the Hero Indian Open title by a stroke from Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.

Gallacher had shared the lead through one round at the DLF G&CC in New Delhi. But a second round 74 saw him drop back into the pack. A 67 on day three pushed him back into the running but it looked as though his chances had gone when he made a quadruple bogey eight on the 7th hole in the final round.

But, in windy conditions, Gallacher kept battling on and, as the leaders stumbled, he steadily played himself back into contention. The Scot then finished with a flurry, birdieing the par-5 and then hitting superb approaches to both the 17th and 18th to card a clubhouse total of nine-under. It was good enough to seal victory for the 2014 Ryder Cup player.

"When you're 44 you're in the sort of twilight so it's a big win for me. It was good to finish it out the way I did it, three under for the last four is a great way to finish,” he said. "I was pretty calm after that hole (the seventh), there's nothing really much you can do. To see that I was only five back gave me a wee bit of encouragement… I thought, 'just hang in there'. When I birdied 15 I saw that Julian Suri had come back and then when I got to the 16th green I was tied for the lead. I just tried to finish as strong as I could and I did that. Thankfully it was enough."

Overnight leader Julian Suri of the USA made a slow start with bogeys on the 3rd, 6th and 7th holes, but he made the green in two at the 8th and played a great chip off the bank at the driveable ninth to lead by two after the front nine.

Masahiro Kawamura birdied the 4th but three bogeys saw him turn in 38 before a superb bunker shot on the 11th resulted in a birdie.

A bogey on the next from the young Japanese player handed Suri a three-shot lead. The American’s lead should have been four when he drove the green on the par-4 13th. But a three putt there halted his progress and then, after he twice played over the green and then three putted from the fringe on the 14th the contest was wide open.

It was Gallacher who took advantage. With a birdie on the 15th he moved into a share of the lead. He then moved in front with further gains at the 17th and 18th holes and nobody could catch him.

Kawamura finished alone in second with Jorge Campillo ending the week in third after a superb closing round of 68.

Hero Indian Open DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India 28-31 March Purse: €1,550,000 Par: 72

1 Stephen Gallacher (Sco) 67 74 67 71 279 €259,669 2 Masahiro Kawamura (Jap) 69 70 68 73 280 €173,113 3 Jorge Campillo (Esp) 70 73 71 67 281 €97,534 T4 Christian Bezuidenhout (RSA) 68 76 79 68 282 €71,982 T4 Julian Suri (USA) 67 67 71 77 282 €71,982 T6 George Coetzee (RSA) 70 66 74 73 283 €43,781 T6 Nacho Elvira (Esp) 72 69 72 70 283 €43,781 T6 Callum Shinkwin (Eng) 72 65 68 78 283 €43,781 T6 Erik Van Rooyen (RSA) 69 73 69 72 283 €43,781

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage