The duo needed something special in the foursome format to haul them up among the top 10, but all they could manage was a 71 and the aggregate of eight-under 280 was good enough only for a share of the 17th place and $61,000. They fell short of India’s best show in the tournament so far, which came in 2005 when Randhawa had teamed up with Arjun Atwal for a ninth-place finish.

The Indian duo’s discomfiture with the format was all too evident as they dropped bogeys on the fourth and 14th holes. Birdies on the second, 10th and 11th holes did put them under-par but that was just not enough for a strong finish.

At the top, Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson produced a magnificent three-stroke victory for Sweden after shooting a nine-under 63 in the final round. Four shots off the lead at the start of the day, the Swedes charged up the leaderboard with a stunning front nine of 31 in the alternate shot format to tie Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal before racing home for Sweden’s second World Cup triumph with four more birdies giving them a winning total of 27-under 261. The Spaniards settled for the second place after returning a 70.

Final scores: 261: Sweden; 264: Spain; 270: Japan, Australia; 272: Germany; 273: England; 274: South Africa, Thailand; 275: USA; 276: Chile, France, Philippines; 277: Portugal, Canada, Denmark; 278: Ireland; 280: India, China; 281: Scotland, Italy; 282: Finland; 283: Guatemala, New Zealand; 284: Chinese Taipei; 285: Wales; 287: Korea; 288: Mexico; 294: Venezuela.