Worcestershire, June 22 (IANS) Saptak Talwar produced his best performance outside India this season, narrowly missing out on a top 10 finish as he ended tied 12th at the English Open on the HotelPlanner Tour.

The 27-year-old Indian signed off with a four-under 68 to finish at 10-under-par for the week, just one stroke shy of a share of seventh place after an impressive final-round charge at The Vale Golf Club.

It was Talwar’s best finish outside India and his second-best result of the season after finishing runner-up at the DP World PGTI Open in March.

Starting the final day in a share of 24th at six-under, Talwar climbed rapidly up the leaderboard with his strongest round of the tournament. He made five birdies against just one bogey, picking up shots on the second, 11th, 13th, 15th, and 17th holes. A birdie on the closing 18th would have earned him a place inside the top 10, but he settled for par to finish tied 12th.

Talwar had opened the week with a three-under 69 before adding rounds of 71 and 70 to remain in contention heading into the final round. His closing 68 highlighted an encouraging return to form ahead of the coming weeks on the HotelPlanner Tour.

The tournament was won by American John Catlin, who claimed his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title after a marathon seven-hole playoff against Norway’s Kristian Krogh Johannessen.

Catlin carded a bogey-free five-under 67 in the final round, while Johannessen fired a flawless six-under 66 to erase a one-shot overnight deficit. The Norwegian birdied the 16th and 17th holes to draw level after Catlin had held a two-shot advantage through 15 holes.

Both players parred the 18th to force a playoff and then matched each other with six consecutive pars before Catlin finally rolled in a birdie on the seventh extra hole to seal victory. The win was also the Americans’ fifth National Open title.

The English Open, which returned to the golfing calendar for the first time in 24 years, featured a distinguished list of former champions, including Colin Montgomerie, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Darren Clarke, with Catlin now adding his name to that illustrious roll of honour.

England’s Barclay Brown and Sweden’s Per Längfors shared third place at 13-under-par, while Germany’s Alexander Knappe and American Jhared Hack finished tied fifth at 12-under.

–IANS

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