Kapur retains Asian Tour card, ends tied 3rd in Cambodia

Siem Reap: The title eluded him but Indian pro Shiv Kapur retained his full playing rights on the Asian Tour for next season, overcoming a topsy-turvy day to sign off tied third at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open golf tournament here on Sunday.

Kapur carded two-under 70 on Sunday to end his campaign with a total of seven-under 281, two strokes behind winner Marcus Both of Australia, who carded a 67. Three-under after five holes, courtesy birdies on the second, fourth and fifth, Kapur’s title hopes were dashed by a double bogey on the seventh as he made the turn one-under. The backward journey was not as eventful and Kapur picked up a couple of birdies against a lone bogey for a strong finish.Kapur said he was relieved to have retained his card for next season. “One of the goals that I wanted to accomplish coming into this week was to secure my card and I managed to accomplish that,” he said. “I didn’t get my win but it was nice to be in contention. Sometimes you just come out short,” he added.Since capping his Asian Tour debut with one victory in 2005, Kapur has successfully maintained his full playing rights in Asia. He was ranked 69th on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit and needed to be inside top-65 to maintain his status. Among other Indians, Anirban lahiri produced his best card of the week – a four –under 68 – to finish tied 13th with a total of 284. Vikrant Chopra was a stroke adrift at tied 17th after returning a two-under 70. Further down, Rahil Gangjee ended tied 38th after signing a card of two-over 74 that left his total at one-over 289. Amandeep Johl was at the bottom of the heap after withdrawing midway through the round. PTI