Chiba (Japan), April 5 – Karandeep Kochhar delivered a strong final round at the International Series Japan and achieved his best finish in an international series event.
Kochhar, who had finished second twice on the Asian Tour, carded a final round of 4-under 67, featuring birdies on his last three holes, placing him fifth. This was his second Top-5 finish in three Asian Tour starts this year. The International Series events also count towards the Asian Tour, while the International Series has its own rankings, with the winner going to the LIV League.
Kochhar's third bogey-free round in four days proved costly, as his final round of 73 ultimately ended up being his highest score of the week. He finished the week with a score of 12-under par (67-65-73-65).
Kochhar started the day with an early birdie on the fourth hole and was 1-under par at the turn. Kochhar closed his final round with three consecutive birdies to tie for fifth place alongside Hongtaek Kim of South Korea.
Jeev Milkha Singh was the only other Indian to make the cut this week. The veteran finished tied for 70th after carding a final round of even par 71. He was 6-over par for the week (72-69-78-71).
Travis Smyth continued his impressive run this season at the first International Series event of the year. He finished with an eagle on the last hole to win by one stroke with a total of 15-under par (71-66-68-64), maintaining his position at the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He also leads the International Series standings.
Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand finished second at 14-under par (67-71-70-62), with a final round of 9-under 62, including a birdie finish on the 18th.
Playing his third event on the Asian Tour this year, Kochhar has shown strong form, having already secured a fourth-place finish at the Philippine Golf Championship in February.
Kochhar's winnings this week, amounting to USD 74,300, is his second-highest pay day to date, with his second-place finish at the 2023 BNI Indonesian Masters (USD 165,000) being his biggest. Kochhar also won the IGPL Dubai event in late 2025.
Kochhar is now fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
In the Aramco Championship, Aditi Ashok shot 4-over 76 in the third round and slipped to T-20 with one round left to play.
Aditi (74-71-76) now has a total score of 5-over par for the week.
The other Indians in the field, Pranavi Urs (78) and Avani Prashanth (81), were struggling.
Pranavi is now 13-over par while Avani is 16-over par. With one day left in the week, they are placed T-69 and 73rd respectively.
Diksha Dagar missed the cut earlier in the week.
American Lauren Coughlin continues to hold the lead heading into the final day. The 33-year-old carded 1-over 73 on the third day for a total score of 7-under par.
Nelly Korda carded a round of 3-under 69, including late birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, putting her in sole second place and closing the gap to fellow American Coughlin by two shots with the final round left to play. Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Miyu Yamashita were tied for third with a total of 3-under par.
World number one Jeeno Thitikul carded 6-over 78 to be placed at T-38 with a total score of 8-over par.