Japan’s Keita Nakajima completed his start to finish run at the $2.25 million 57th Hero Indian Open and a winner’s payout of $382,500 at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon on Sunday.
Nakajima ended his run at the Hero Indian Open 2024 with a final round of 1 over par 73 and a tournament total of 17 under 271.
The Japanese entered the final round with a four-shot advantage and that was extended to nine as he turned in 33 and threatened to blow the rest of the field away at DLF Golf & Country Club.
He could not quite maintain that incredible pace on the back nine but his 17 under par total gave him a comfortable victory over home favourite Veer Ahlawat, Swede Sebastian Söderberg and American Johannes Veerman.
The win in just his 11th start moves Nakajima to 13th in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and to the top of the Asian Swing standings.
Nakajima becomes the fifth Japanese winner in DP World Tour history and his victory, the seventh by a Japanese player, comes as part of a remarkable purple patch for his nation on Tour.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “I feel like this is the first win of a new professional career. This is my first year playing on the DP World Tour and I’m very proud to have won on the DP World Tour and very honoured to be playing here. I want to try and finish on the top ten on this tour and then go to the PGA TOUR in 2025.
Ahlawat got the biggest cheer of the day with a tough putt for eagle on the 18th that saw him sign for a 71 also containing three birdies and four bogeys.
