Andrew Dodt won the inaugural Avantha Masters at the DLF Club, New Delhi, by a stroke on Sunday, beating England's Richard Finch with a birdie on the 18th.
Australia’s Dodt shot a final round of four-under-68 to Finch's six-under-66, finishing on 14-under to claim his maiden European Tour victory. That Dodt was able to win may have surprised no-one more than the Aussie himself, who had scarcely covered himself in glory on Saturday, picking up two bogeys and a double-bogey on the 5th.
The 24-year-old Queenslander fared better yesterday, carding five birdies and a bogey to stay one stroke ahead of Finch. The Englishman shot an impressive seven birdies during the final round, but a bogey on the 3rd proved ultimately to be his undoing.
"It was a huge relief when I birdied the 18th," said Dodt, who is the European Tour’s newest member, having taken affiliate membership last week. “I had a pretty good lie on the rough and I was in between clubs. I decided to be more aggressive and hit a pretty good shot but it just didn’t turn. The bunker was fine as it was kind of a standard bunker shot and I managed to hit a good one.”
Two Englishmen, Richard Bland and Barry Lane, and Scotsman David Drysdale were among those tied for third place on 12-under. The other third-place tie was Japan's Tetsuji Hiratsuka, who had notched up a new course record of 62 on Friday, but could only come home with 71 on Sunday as a double bogey at the 5th scuppered his chances.
Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke tied for eighth place on 10-under, along with England's Oliver Fisher. The highest-placed local player was Rahil Gangjee, who finished on nine-under, tied for 14th place.
Dustin Johnson retained the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the second year, despite an erratic final round on Sunday. His birdie on the 18th meant the 25-year-old American narrowly avoided a play-off with countrymen David Duval and JB Holmes, even though Johnson made three bogeys and a double bogey on the 9th, to cancel out an eagle on the 6th.
Johnson finished the day two-over-74, but previous rounds of 64, 68 and 64 had put him in a good position to successfully defend his championship. He finished on 16-under, a stroke ahead of Duval and Holmes who were tied for second place.
Phil Mickelson tied for eighth place on 11-under, while Germany's Alex Cejka was the best performed European player, tying for 10th place on 10-under. England's Luke Donald and Ireland's Padraig Harrington were tied for 16th place at nine-under.
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