Shiv Kapur felt like a redeemed man as he finished the best among the Indians at tied fifth while New Zealand’s Mark Brown’s late surge earned him his second successive Asian Tour title in India — the USD 2.5 million Johnnie Walker Classic — here on Sunday.

Brown, who was tied for the second spot overnight and the unassuming Kiwi stunned one and all with a late charge which had five birdies on the back nine to turn in a five-under 67 with a total of 18-under 270. The triumph earned him the biggest ever purse of his career, a whopping USD 409,743.

“It means a lot. I’ve been struggling for a long time now. It’s good to have the security of a major tour. Asia is fantastic and is a great tour,” said the 33-year-old, who had quit the game two years ago to become a coach.

Among the Indians, it was Kapur, who had the best day with a four-under 68, studded with five birdies against a lone bogey for a total of 14-under 273.

Shiv, who missed the cut at the Indian Masters last month, said the top five finish has come as somewhat of a redemption for the disappointment at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC).

Randhawa falters

In contrast, Jyoti Randhawa (72), considered a title contender before the tee off, stuttered after a third-hole birdie and could never really recover from a double bogey on the fifth to finish with a total of 13-under 275 for a share of the eighth spot.

Meanwhile, Jeev Milkha Singh signed off yet another subdued show at home with a bogey-free three-under 69 that took his total to 11-under 277 and earned him a tied 11th position. 

Arjun Atwal had an eventful day as he turned in a 71 that included six birdies against five bogeys to finish a creditable tied 17th with a total of nine-under 279. Rahil Gangjee was the next best Indian finishing tied 30th.

Digvijay Singh was tied 63rd and Rahul Ganpathy was tied 64th spot.

Scores: 270: Mark Brown (NZ, 71, 68, 64, 67);  273: Greg Chalmers (Aus, 68, 69, 68, 68), Taichiro Kiyota (Jap, 68, 67, 67, 71), Scott Strange (Aus, 71, 67, 68, 67); 274: Johan Edfors (Swe, 71, 69, 69, 65), Shiv Kapur (Ind, 69, 65 72, 68), Graeme Storm (Bri, 70, 66, 69, 69); 275: Jyoti Randhawa (Ind, 70, 65, 68, 72); 276: Prayad Marksaeng (Tha, 74, 65, 70, 67), Daniel Vancsik (Arg, 67, 71, 68, 70); 277: Scott Barr (Aus, 71, 70, 67, 69), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa, 69, 67, 73, 68), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind, 68, 70, 70, 69); 278: Marcus Fraser (Aus, 71, 68, 71, 68), Soren Hansen (Den, 69, 69, 71, 69), Lin Wen-tang (Tai, 70, 67, 72, 69);279: Phillip Archer (Bri, 72, 64, 69, 74), Arjun Atwal (Ind, 69, 72, 67, 71), Tony Carolan (Aus, 71, 69, 68, 71), Mark Foster (Bri, 68, 74, 67, 70), Scott Laycock (Aus, 72, 68, 68, 71), Vijay Singh (Fij, 70, 68, 69, 72), Kane Webber (Aus, 73, 69, 66, 71), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha, 71 70, 68, 70).