Chiba, April 5 Indian golfer Karandeep Kochhar achieved his best finish in an international series event, scoring a late hat-trick of birdies in the thrilling fourth round to finish fifth, here on Sunday.
Kochhar, who has twice finished second in the Asian Tour, carded a final round of 4-under 67, featuring birdies on his last three holes.
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.
This was Kochhar's third bogey-free round in four days, and it was only his third round of 73 that proved costly. Kochhar finished the week with a score of 12-under par (67-65-73-65).
Kochhar began the day with an early birdie on the fourth hole and was 1-under par at the turn. Kochhar finished his final round with three consecutive birdies to finish fifth alongside Hongtaek Kim of South Korea.
Jeev Milkha Singh was the only other Indian to make the cut this week. The veteran finished seventh with a final round of even par 71. He was 6-over par for the week (72-69-78-71).
Travis Smyth continued his successful season with a win in 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 lead on 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 are his second highest to date, with his second place finish at the 2023 BNI Indonesian Masters at 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.
