In a war of attrition, the last man standing, walks away with the prize. Standing on the eighth tee on the final day, Stephen Gallacher told himself that this could still be his day. “Just hang in there, I told myself,” said the Scot after his round. Gallacher had just made a complete mess of the seventh hole, hitting consecutive drives into the thick stuff and finally holing out for a quadruple bogey.

It helped that Gallacher had his son caddying for him. “Jack was as cool as a cucumber after that quadruple bogey and it was brilliant having him on the bag. He kept saying, ‘Just keep doing what you are doing, make sure you have the right club, get the process right, pick the your shot and hit it—that’s all you can do’.”

Five strokes behind the leader at the turn, Gallacher went on to make five birdies on the back nine (including three on the final four holes) while other contenders self-destructed all around him.

The 44-year-old, known for his ball striking with the long irons hit one of the shots of the week on that stretch: a 4-iron from 240 yards out for his second on the par-5 18th that flew over the water and gave him an easy two-putt for birdie. It was the European Tour veteran’s fourth European Tour win.

The 2019 edition of the country’s national open championship—like any event played at the Gary Player Championship Course at the DLF Golf & Country Club in the NCR—was never going to be won by brilliance, (or audacious shot-making, for that matter). The ridiculously tucked-away pins, glassy greens—some of which are elevated with punishing roll-off areas—and some of the longest holes on the European and Asian Tours, ensure that disaster strikes consistently during events at the DLF Golf & Country Club. On this cruel, Black-Knight design, one loose shot is all it takes to dismantle fine rounds, and undo days of prudent course strategy. Just ask Julian Suri.

Suri, the American golfer with Indian origins, led from the start and held, or shared, the top position on the leader board until he arrived at the dreaded 14th hole on the final day. This savage par-4, that was deemed the hardest par-4 hole on the European Tour in 2017, measures 550 yards from the tips and averaged 4.6 strokes during the week.

Leading by two shots, Suri was well placed after conservative play off the tee put him 256 yards from the green and proceeded to hit an astounding 5-iron that landed close to the pin before rolling off the putting surface. What followed was a litany of chipping errors, compounded by poor putting and suddenly Suri’s chances had been vanquished by a quadruple bogey. The frazzled youngster never recovered from that blow and ended up with a five-over 77 to finish tied-fourth.

Unlike Gallacher who managed to rally back after that mess-up on the eighth, the hole proved to be the nemesis for Shubhankar Sharma—the Indian hope for the week—for whom the DLF G&CC is home turf. Sharma dropped four strokes on the Par-5 through the week and that probably cost him even more strokes as the hole was relatively conducive to birdies. Amongst the home contingent, the talented Rashid Khan announced a return to form by notching up a Top-10 finish. Khan and Bengaluru boy, Chikkarangappa, finished top-of-the-heap amongst the home contingent.

The headlines though, as always, were hogged by the Gary Player Championship course that re-affirmed its reputation as one of the most unforgiving venues on any Tour. Set up at 7,438 yards for the event, the course extracted its pound of flesh from any player who decided to take it on. Callum Shinkwin, the English player, who made it to the final group on the back of a pair of four-under 68s on the second and third days was the only one who seemed to be capable of dominating the layout. The course got its own back with a vengeance on the final day: Shinkwin tumbled out of reckoning with a disastrous six-over 78 on the final day.

The 14th hole, in fact, played so hard this week, that the players tees were moved up from Gold to Black making it a slightly shorter, 535-yard-hole. Lest you forget—this is a Par-4 we’re talking about. This hole was hardly the exception when it came to the difficulty levels though; all 18 holes played over par for the week, but perhaps the most telling stat came from the 256-yard 16th hole: no player in the field managed to birdie this hole on the final day. The final stretch from holes 14—18 averaged two-over-par for the week. That stat really puts Gallacher’s stellar final stretch in perspective: it was by far the best finish by anyone in the entire week.

Twenty-six players finished below par, but none managed to break par on all four days. The key to playing this monster was patience: biding your time, and accepting that occasional big numbers are inevitable. Young players, notably the hapless Julian Suri, learnt that lesson the hard way: in golf, you’ve got to take it on the chin, and move on. Just ask Stephen Gallacher.

(A golfer, Meraj Shah also writes about the game)