Keita Nakajima started the day with a four shot lead at the Hero Indian Open and reached 17-under to win his maiden DP World Tour title by four shots in spite of closing with a 73 after a round featuring a double bogey at the par-4 14th, four bogeys including three back-to-back from the 16th and five birdies.
“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.
“The win definitely gives me a lot of confidence in myself and I’m hoping now to take what I did this week and turn it into even more wins in the future.
“I was a little nervous and I had a tough back nine but I hit some great shots. Fortunately I had a few strokes in the bank which I can credit back to my strong play on the front nine and the earlier rounds this week, so overall very proud of my performance.”
He becomes the fifth Japanese winner in DP World Tour history and the third in just over six months.
India’s Veer Ahlawat closed with an eagle for a 71 and tied for second place at 13-under alongside Sweden’s Sebastian Söderberg and a bogey-free Johannes Veerman of the United States who both shot 67s.
Malaysia’s Gavin Green carded a 64 in spite of two double bogeys at the par-4s 4th and 10th and tied for fifth place at 12-under alongside Italian Matteo Manassero (73) and Frenchmen Romain Langasque (74) and Jeon weon Ko (73).
