Sentosa: Indian golfer SSP Chawrasia continued to pile pressure on the Order of Merit leader Gavin Green of Malaysia after finishing tied seventh at the UBS Hong Kong Open.
Chawrasia led the event in the opening three rounds before stumbling to a two-over-par 72 on Sunday to miss out on his second victory in 2017. A win in Hong Kong would have taken Chawrasia to the top of the Order of Merit. The Indian was disappointed with the result but took solace that he edged closer to Merit leader Green, whom he trails by USD 142,558 with four Asian Tour events left to play this season.
"I missed a couple of putts in the final round but that's alright. It's part of the game. I'll be playing in the next few events and there's still a good chance for me to take over the leader on the Order of Merit. It's not over yet at least for the Order of Merit title," said Chawrasia. Green finished in a share of 62nd place in Hong Kong with Scott Hend of Australia, who is still in the running to become the first player to win back-to-back Order of Merit crowns.
Hend trails in third place on the Merit ranking with earnings of USD 439,229 while David Lipsky of the United States stayed in second place on USD 461,179. Green, Hend and Chawrasia will head to the 1million (approximately USD 1.07 million) AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which gets underway on Thursday, where they will continue their battle for the Order of Merit crown.