India's Gaganjeet Bhullar finished strongly with a 6-under performance at the USD 2 million International Series Morocco, while Hong Kong's Taichi Kho secured the prestigious title at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat.
Bhullar's Performance
Bhullar ended the tournament tied for 31st place after registering a par score in the fourth round. He recorded four birdies on the final day, but his round was marred by four bogeys. Ajeetesh Sandhu and Karandeep Kochhar finished tied for 61st with 4-over and 5-over in the final round, respectively.
Sandhu faced a tough final day on a challenging layout, registering four bogeys. Kochhar finished with four bogeys and a double bogey, along with a birdie on the third hole.
Kho's Historic Victory
Taichi Kho, with just three bogeys over four days, added another feather to his cap by securing his first International Series event. The 25-year-old, who made history for Hong Kong by winning its first-ever gold medal in golf at the Hangzhou Games in 2023, was four under par through 10 holes with five birdies to take sole possession of the lead. However, he struggled to find a sixth birdie that would have given him breathing space.
That birdie finally came when it was needed most, on the par-5 18th hole. Overnight leader and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (70), who was level with Kho after making a birdie from the bunker on the 17th hole, pulled his second shot from the fairway towards the LED screen and could not make his up-and-down from there.
Kho finished with a 19-under par total to claim the USD 360,000 winning cheque, which elevated him to No. 2 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit behind Australia's Travis Smyth and to No. 3 in The International Series Ranking.
Emotional Win
"It's been a long year. It's had a lot of hardships and a bit of adversity. Through it all, I think I really grew as a person. I realised the work I put in surpasses any results. Golf's a funny game. It really gives and takes, and I was very fortunate the last couple of weeks to be on the good side of it. I just have a lot of gratitude towards the game itself, the people around me, the people who make it possible," said Kho.
The victory also helped him overcome the pain of losing in a playoff on the Japan Golf Tour the previous week. Kho was misty-eyed and emotional after the win.
Other Performances
The Thai duo of Suteepat Prateeptienchai (69) and Jazz Janewattananond (72) were tied for third at 15-under. It could have been better, but Suteepat made a bogey-bogey finish, and Jazz dropped a shot on the last.
Australian Elvis Smylie, winner of LIV Golf Riyadh earlier this year, made six birdies in his last seven holes for a 66 to join South Africa's in-form Ian Snyman (67), Zimbabwe's Kieran Vincent (67), and Japan's Takanori Konishi (71) in a tie for fifth place at 14-under.
