Final hole tragedy dashes Jeev's title defence hopes

Jeev Milkha Singh came agonisingly close to defend his title at the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup before a double bogey in his final hole ruined his prospects, forcing him to settle for a tied third finish in Tokyo on Sunday.

The defending champion carded two-under 68 in his final round to finish with an aggregate of nine-under 271, two shots behind Australian Brendan Jones who blasted an incredible final round of nine-under 61 to walk away with the silverware. 

Overnight leader Jeev bogeyed the third and 12th holes but he seemed to have atoned for it as he picked up a shot each on the second and sixth and then reeled off a birdie quartet over five holes on his back stretch.

Jeev approached the final hole needing a birdie to grab the title, while a par would have him levelled with Jones.

Things, however, went horrible awry for the Indian, who dropped a double bogey on the par-three hole -- his second three-putt of the day -- to see his title hopes go up in the smoke.

Toru Taniguchi produced his best show of the week, a sparkling five-under 65, to aggregate 270 and finish second, one shot ahead of Jeev and three others sharing the third spot.