Jyoti Randhawa's grit and experience carried him through a tough fourth and final round and saw him finish at tied 14th at the US $2 million Singapore Open at the Serapong Golf Course on Sunday.
On a day when just six players managed par or under, Randhawa grinded out a three-over 74 to finish tied with Australian Terry Pilkadaris.
The next best Indian was Ashok Kumar at tied 28th. Arjun Singh (81), the best Indian for the first three days, wilted under hot and humid conditions to drop from tied 11th after third round to a tied 41st.
Adam Scott, the world No 7, who finished his third round this morning with three birdies in the last four holes, kept that form going as he carded a 65 to win the tournament at 13-under 265, a yawning seven shots ahead of Lee Westwood (278).
Just five players finished under par over four days, and another two at par, as the high roughs and tough conditions at the Serapong course took their toll.
For Scott, 25, this was his second title in Asia, and he said he was delighted with his effort.
"I played a good round of golf and I've got this big trophy and it is my first National Championships anywhere.
"Today I was smart and had a gameplan. I seemed to execute just how I wanted to. Only one bogey on 16 and plenty of birdies. It was an ideal round for me."
Scott took US $315,000, while second-placed Westwood grabbed US $316,000.
Randhawa, playing only his second full tournament in more than two-and-a-half months riddled with injury and infection, said he paid the price for inconsistency and rustiness.
"I was clearly lacking tournament play. I hit the ball well in patches and was rusty at other times. The feel kept coming and going through the four days.
"I would feel great one time and suddenly it would be gone. But from here I go for an event in Bangalore and then Dunhill Links and WGC Amex. I am also planning to play the Indian Open and some other events on Asian Tour," said the Indian ace.
Randhawa opened with three pars and birdied the fourth. But on the fifth he duffed a shot in the bunker and ended with a double and dropped yet another one on the sixth.
He began the back nine with bogeys on 10th and 12th.
"I did my level best to stay focussed as I parred the rest and birdied the 16th," added Randhawa, who picked US $30,000.
Ashok also impressed in what was only his fifth start this season. He shot 74, aided by three birdies in his last five holes, just when the day seemed to be going badly for him.
Ashok, who made the cut right on the line, ended tied for 28th place, the second place among the Indians. It also earned him his best pay cheque on the Asian Tour at US $17,250 and improved his chances of getting into the top-60 to ensure his 2006 Asian Tour card.
"On the last few holes I went all out and played aggressively for birdies," said Ashok, who went out first from the first tee in a two-ball with Scott Strange.
Arjun Singh's day began badly, when he bogeyed both the 17th and 18th in morning when he came to complete his third round.
"I closed badly on each of the first three rounds, but in the fourth I just hit badly and paid the penalty," said Arjun, who goes to Taipei for the Taiwan Open next week.
Arjun had things under control till the fifth as he parred first four holes and missed one birdie chance. A bogey on the tough fifth, was followed by a good par on sixth. Then on the seventh things started happening. He lost the ball with his second shot.
"No one saw it, whether it went into water or got lost in the high rough. I took a two-shot penalty and ended with a triple bogey. I went into the water twice more and just could not get going," said Arjun's whose only birdie of the day came on par-3 17th, by which time he was nowhere in the picture.
Uttam Singh Mundy brought in a 73 with two birdies, two bogeys and a double, and that lifted him to tied 41st, up from 61st the previous day.
Rahil Gangjee (76), starting from tenth, looked fine at one-over for the day after 13 holes, but then ran into an awful stretch of four bogeys from fifth to eighth and dropped rapidly to 45th.
Digvijay dropped 30 places to tied 62nd with 81, while Harmeet Kahlon ended with a 79 for tied 67th.
Final leading scores:
271 - Adam Scott (70, 69, 67, 65)
278 - Lee Westwood (71, 71, 68, 68)
279 - Andrew Buckle (71, 65, 72, 71)
281 - Ted Oh (69, 70, 72, 70)
282 - Thongchai Jaidee (67, 73, 68, 74)
288 - Anthony Kang (67, 72, 72, 73), Mahal Pearce (68, 70, 71, 75)
290 - Edward Michaels (69, 67, 71, 79), Prom Meesaswat (73, 71, 72, 70), Nick O'Hern (71, 68, 73, 74)
291 - Lu Wen Teh (71, 73, 71, 72 ), Chapchai Nirat (67, 74, 74, 72)
292 - Liang Wen Chong (70, 73, 72, 73)
293 - Terry Pilkadaris (71, 70, 75, 73), Jyoti Randhawa (74, 69, 72, 74)
Indian scores:
289 - Jyoti Randhawa (74, 69, 71, 74) tied 14th
294 - Ashok Kumar (72, 76, 72, 74) tied 28th
296 - Arjun Singh (71, 70, 74, 81), Uttam Singh Mundy (75, 73, 75, 73) tied 41st
297 - Rahil Gangjee (74, 74, 73, 76) tied 45th
300 - Digvijay Singh (75, 72, 72, 81) tied 62nd
302 - Harmeet Kahlon (75, 73, 75, 79) tied 67th.
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