India Legends Championship: Sweden's Joakim Haeggman pulls ahead of Jeev Milkha Singh to win title

Joakim Haeggman scores an even par 72 in the final round of India Legends Championship.

A call to his son, Felix, who turns 15 next week was the first emotion Joakim Haeggman displayed after his wire-to-wire win at the inaugural HSBC India Legends Championship on Sunday. Haeggman’s final round at the Jaypee Greens Golf Course was an even par 72 but it had its share of tense moments before he won his second Legends Tour title.

The Swede finished where he had begun the day at 9-under and coasted to a two-shot win over England’s Andrew Marshall (73-71-65), who had the best final round of the day at 7-under 209. Jeev (68-68-76) was tied third with Germany’s Thomas Gogele (74-70-68) at 4-under.

It was a good week for India as behind Jeev’s T-3 was Jyoti Randhawa (68-72-74) in tied ninth place on 2-under 214. Mukesh Kumar was T-15 and Amandeep Johl was T-22.

Jeev was very gracious and said, “I would like to congratulate Joakim Haeggman, whom I call Haggy. I have known him for years. Well done to him, he played beautifully today.”

He also said, “Honestly, as the host of the first Legends Tour tournament in India, I think all the players are very happy and they’re going to take back good memories. I think I’ve done a good job with that.

Also Read: Jeev Milkha Singh chases historic maiden home tour victory at India Legends Championship

“I would like to thank all the people on board for making this event happen and to make it a success. I would like to thank HSBC India for coming forward, and all the other sponsors. Especially, thank all the players for  coming down and playing this week.”

Haeggman, the first Swede to play the Ryder Cup in 1993, said, “It’s been a fantastic week for me, brilliant. I’ve been driving the ball well, which is sometimes my Achilles, not being a perfect driver of the golf ball. I’ve been able to hit a lot of fairways. I’ve been able to hit a lot of greens.”

He added, “It’s been a really long two and a half days in the heat trying to stay on top and not lose focus. I had one mistake today and that got Jeev and the boys back into the tournament.  I’m really happy that I managed to keep it going.”

Haeggman’s drive on the first hole on Sunday showed some nerves and the resultant bogey brought him level with Jeev. However, over the next four holes, the Swede played superbly with birdies on second, fourth and the fifth to get back into the saddle.

Jeev meanwhile had his struggles with the heat and the weight of expectations and bogeyed three times in the first nine against just one birdie. The overnight lead of one had swelled to five in favour of the Swede, who turned in 2-under and Jeev turned in 2-over.

The door however did open as Haeggman bogeyed 14 and then came a two-shot swing. Haeggman bogeyed the Par-5 15 and Jeev birdied the hole. The gap had suddenly shrunk and the Indian seemed to be back in the frame.

However Haeggman did not falter further and Jeev was unable to get birdies on either 16 or 17 and the gap stayed at two when the duo came to the 18th tee.

On the final hole Haeggman played a steady par, while Jeev went into the water and got on to the green only in five and closed with a two-putt for a triple bogey seven.

Talking of the last few holes, Haeggman said, “In the end, it got really exciting, more exciting than it needed to be. Having had a nice five-shot lead, Andrew Marshall posted a score, I could see that.”

He also said, “My son has been following my progress at 4 am in the morning each day. He was never interested in golf and has only started playing over the last couple of years and is now down to six (handicap). So I am sure he is very happy with this (Trophy).

Haeggman, on his first visit to India, added, “The experience in India has been fantastic. I mean the treatment we’ve had, we stayed in a fantastic hotel, the food’s been great. We have all been really, really happy with everything. It’s been fantastic. And I will be back.”

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