Ahlawat top Indian finisher in Asian Mixed Challenge golf; Kim wins title

Promising youngster Veer Ahlawat was the top Indian finisher at T-21 as Koreas Sihwan Kim grabbed the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge title at the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club here.It was Kims second Asian Tour title in the space of six weeks and cemented his position at the top of the Tours Order of Merit.

Promising youngster Veer Ahlawat was the top Indian finisher at T-21 as Korea's Sihwan Kim grabbed the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge title at the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club here.

It was Kim's second Asian Tour title in the space of six weeks and cemented his position at the top of the Tour's Order of Merit. The American won the USD 750,000 tournament which was the Asian Tour's first-ever Modified Stableford scoring event and was jointly sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour (LET).

Veer was T-21 with 32 points while Viraj Madappa, who was among the Top-10 earlier in the week, and Shiv Kapur were T-33 with 38 points each. Rashid Khan was T-54 with 22 points and Diksha Dagar, one of the two Indian women starters this week, was T-61 with 20 points.

Kim totaled 49 points as the rising Swedish woman star Maja Stark came home in second on 47 points and Thailand's woman golfer Budsabakorn Sukapan was third with 42 points. Thailand's Phachara Khongwatmai finished fourth on 41 points.

Sihwan Kim led after the first round with a 62 that gave him 22 points before unexpectedly crashing to a 76 on day two worth minus two points, but he started the final round with an eight-point advantage thanks to an impressive 61 on Friday.

Kim had to work hard all day as the chasing pack cut his lead to two points at one stage. However, Kim, who played superbly in Rounds 1 and 3, held others at bay and won by two shots despite a weather delay, which actually proved good for him as he was able to get back his rhythm.