Austrian Bernd Wiesberger held off the persistent challenge of South Africa's Ernie Els to win the Indonesian Masters by one stroke on Sunday. The 27-year-old hit a final round five-under-par 67 for a 15-under par total in the Asian Tour event held at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
British Open champion Els carded a 68 to finish second, while overnight leader Daisuke Kataoka of Japan slipped back to third, a shot further back after a final round 70. "I was struggling in the beginning after my birdie on one. But at the turn, I got a bit of momentum going because I was confident with my ball striking," Wiesberger told reporters after claiming his fifth professional victory.
The Austrian took the lead from Kataoka with an eagle-three on the par-five 12th only to see playing partner Els match his score to keep up the pressure. "It was good to hole the eagle and it was nice that Ernie stayed in touch. He wouldn't let go and that's why he is such a great champion. It was a good time to do that and it got my round going," he added.
Els, whose lone bogey of the round came on the fifth hole, was not too dissatisfied with his week's work. "I played and fought hard. I wasn't quite at my best but had a good time. I didn't hit my iron shots close enough especially at the start. I was one over through five holes and had to battle back all the time," Els said.
"A win would have been unbelievable but second is not all that bad. This has given me something and it shows my game is going in the right direction. I'm starting to feel really good about my game. "I think Bernd played better than all of us. I played with him for three rounds and I think he deserves to win."
Shiv Kapur blew up a great opportunity of another great finish with a horrific six-over back nine and crashed way down on the leaderboard, while Rahil Gangjee, despite a crippling double bogey on 17th, ended tied eighth.
Kapur was challenging for top honours as he finished the front nine in three-under and climbed to 10-under at which point he was just two behind the leader. Then came a double bogey on 10th and again another double bogey on 13th to be followed by a bogey-bogey finish for a 75 after a front nine of 33. From being in contention he ended in a tie for 23rd.
Gangjee was even after front nine, but birdies on 10th and 11th, brought him back in the picture for a top-5. Despite a birdie on 16th, the bogey on 13th and a double on 17th dashed his hopes and he had to be satisfied with a eighth place. Anirban Lahiri had his own woes with a double on seventh and then a bogey-triple bogey finish for a 77 that saw him finish 35th. Ajeetesh Sandhu (76) was tied 67th at the USD 750,000 Asian Tour event at the majestic Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
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