Kochhar's Birdie Blitz Secures Top-5 Finish in Japan; Smyth Wins with Epic Eagle

Kochhar remained bogey-free on the final day after a tumultuous third round and hit birdies on the 4th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes to finish the tournament with 12-under 272, three shots behind winner Smyth, according to a release.

Meanwhile, Smyth's dream run continued when he made an eagle putt on the par-five 18th to sensationally win the tournament by one. In a riveting finish, he drained a 20-footer to narrowly avoid a play-off with Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Ryosuke Kinoshita from Japan - at Caledonian Golf Club, near Tokyo.

The Australian's brilliant final putt saw him shoot a seven-under-par 64 to move to 15-under, with Pavit and Kinoshita both in the clubhouse on 14-under. Pavit and Kinoshita had earlier turned the tournament on its head by shooting scintillating rounds of 62 and 63, respectively, to come through from much further back. The former was in the 10th from last group, and Kinoshita was the sixth.

Korea's Hongtaek Kim and Shugo Imahira from Japan had started the day sharing the lead but were unable to keep up with the fast pace being set. Kim shot a 69 to tie for fifth while Imahira returned a 70 for equal seventh. This week's US$2 million event is the opening event of the season on The International Series, and it is Smyth's first success on the Series - the upper-tier level of events on the Asian Tour that provide a pathway to the LIV Golf League, via The International Series Rankings.

It's also his second victory on the Asian Tour, having won the Yeangder TPC in 2022, and comes during a remarkable run of form. He claimed the ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship last month, which put him on course to win the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit for the 2025/26 season.

The 31-year-old also finished third and fifth in the first two events of the season on the Asian Tour and now leads the Order of Merit, as well as The International Series Rankings.

"That's what dreams are made of right there," said the Australian about his closing putt. "As a young kid, you know, you're on the putting green having putting comps with your mates, you're trying to chip in to win, you're trying to hole 25-footers to win. And that was unbelievable. You know, I won a tournament two weeks ago, probably a pretty similar putt downhill, left to right - just drew upon that. But yeah, for it to go in like that, it's the best feeling ever."

Having started the day two behind the leaders, he gradually worked his way through the field on the front nine with birdies on one, two and six. With the course playing nearly three shots easier today and players making a deluge of birdies on the back nine he still had a lot of work to do. Birdies on 13 and 16 saw him move one behind Pavit and Kinoshita before he gained two shots on the last to finish the job in regulation play.

Austen Truslow finished in fourth on his own, two behind the champion. He closed with a 65, helped by an unlikely and adventurous eagle on the par-four 16th. Remarkably, his first tee shot hit some overhanging cables, which allowed him to replay the shot. He promptly found the putting green in one and made his eagle putt from about 30 feet. The American faced a similar length for eagle on 18, but was unable to convert that attempt to catch Pavit and Kinoshita.

The Asian Tour heads to the Singapore Open presented by The Business Times next. The US$2 million event will be played on The Serapong at Sentosa Golf Club from 23-26 April and is also part of The International Series.

- ANI