Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

was Tabuena, in joint sixth spot, although a seemingly distant six shots off the pace. Yet at the end of a remarkable final day, it was Tabuena, playing in the penultimate group, who was celebrating after producing one of the finest closing rounds ever witnessed at the historic Lodhi Course, a bogey-free 65. “I feel great,” said 28-year-old Tabuena, only the second player from his country to win in India, following in the footsteps of legendary Ben Arda, who was triumphant in the Indian Open in 1969. “I’ve been playing very well for the past few months and I believed that another win was coming very soon. I told myself: ‘Just stick to the gameplan, you’ve been playing awesome the first few days’,” said Tabuena, who narrowed the gap to the leader with a front nine three-under 33 before a brilliant back nine saw him catch and overtake Khan. While Tabuena birdied 10, 12, 15 and 16, Khan dropped shots on 15 and 17. The Indian needed an eagle on the par-five 18th to force a play-off, but had to settle for a birdie-four and an ever-par 72. His 277 total was one more than Tabuena’s. In the immediate aftermath of the extraordinary events that unfolded, both Tabuena and Khan attempted to process their thoughts. Tabuena said: “I was happy with how I Chapchai Nirat [ABOVE] and Chikkarangappa S. [RIGHT] all had their chances at Delhi Golf Club. stuck mentally to the gameplan. It’s easy to get too aggressive at Delhi Golf Club. I executed each shot the way I wanted to. It’s hard to describe. It’s great to be back in the winner’s circle and I believe there is way more room for improvement still. “Bogey-free at Delhi Golf Club on a Sunday is probably the best feeling in the world. As I checked my scorecard I thought: ‘Did I really just shoot seven- under at one of the hardest courses we play on the Asian Tour?’ “I shot one of the best rounds of my career on a Sunday. I didn’t force any shots, even though it was very easy to. I’m pretty overwhelmed. I’m pretty tired physically and mentally also.” Tabuena’s delight was in stark contrast to the dejection felt by 32-year-old Khan after a disheartening afternoon at a venue where he has now had to settle for second place on five occasions. Khan, whose prospects weren’t helped by an 80-minute delay caused by inclement weather while he was playing the 14th, said: “I wasn’t hitting it well at all. I wasn’t able to swing it well. I have a problem in my swing which I’mworking on, and I played this week only on my putter. That’s it. And I just didn’t hole my putts today. “During the break, I went to the range and was hitting it well but on the golf course it was a different story.” 59 THE DGC OPEN PR E SEN T ED BY MA ST ERCA RD D E L H I GO L F C L U B | MA R C H 1 6 - 1 9 , 2 0 2 3 | P R I Z E MON E Y U S $ 7 5 0 , 0 0 0