Vijay Kumar just manages to stay ahead of Ghei

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 26. The last thing that any professional golfer in India would want on the final day of a major championship is Gaurav Ghei breathing down his neck on the back nine. It can be pretty unnerving.

And so it turned out to be for Vijay Kumar from Lucknow on Saturday in the climactic round of the Rs.7.5 lakh The Hindu Open championship on the Cosmopolitan Club golf course. Leading by a mile, so to say, with five holes to play, Vijay Kumar faltered.

In the end, it was just as well for the stocky man from Lucknow that he had opened up a seven-stroke lead - at the start of the fourth round, Vijay Kumar was four strokes ahead of Ghei - after 13 holes. For, finally, when he sank a 2ft putt to win his second title in a row at The Hindu Open, the difference between Vijay Kumar and Ghei was a mere two strokes.

After a par round of 72, Vijay Kumar's winning aggregate was 279 while Ghei's 70 saw him end up with 281.

Ghei himself was not playing at his customary altitude and the putts were not going in when he needed to sink them to mount a serious challenge. And this contributed, too, to the turn of events in the end.

Yet, what had appeared to be a runaway victory for Vijay Kumar finally turned out to be a pretty close run thing and the few die-hards who had turned up to watch the final day's action were not really complaining.

The first sign of trouble for Vijay Kumar came on the 14th where he played a poor chip shot and ended up with a bogey even as Ghei made par. Then on the 15th, Vijay Kumar three-putted to lose another stroke. Ghei could have made up two strokes here had he not gone well over the green with his second shot.

But Ghei made a birdie on the 16th where Vijay Kumar managed just a par after once again playing a tentative chip in what is a birdie hole even for local amateurs.

For all that, when Ghei choked on his chip to the 17th green and bogeyed the hole even as Vijay Kumar made par, the difference was once again huge - five strokes with a hole to play. But in the light of what happened on the 18th, Ghei would have certainly regretted his poor play on the 17th, for if he had made up a shot there too, he could have forced a play-off.

Vijay Kumar's tee shot on the 18th saw the ball go past the fairway and nestle behind a tree adjacent to the boundary wall. He came out smartly but then three putted for a double bogey even as Ghei hit two great shots in succession to get within two feet of the pin before sinking the short putt for a birdie.

``I won the tournament all right. But I am disappointed. I did not want to finish like this. This is not what I expect of myself,'' said Vijay Kumar who won Rs. 1,21,500 and had shot three birdies and an eagle (on the sixth) before his game fell apart.

Ghei, winner of this tournament three times, shot four birdies and had two bogeys. He won Rs. 84,000. Shiv Prakash from Kanpur and Mukesh Kumar from Mhow shared the third place with an aggregate of 282.

Meanwhile, Rafiq Ali and Rahul Ganapathy carded the best round of this year's tournament, a six under 66 today. Ali had six birdies, an eagle and two bogeys but it was Ganapathy's round that was more creditable. For this is the young man's first event as a pro. He had seven birdies and one bogey.

Sri Lanka's top amateur Anura Rohana won the amateur championship with a final round 73 that saw him end up with an aggregate of 295. Tissa Chandradasa from Sri Lanka and C.V. Yudvir of Chennai both ended up with 299 but Chandradasa was declared the winner on a better back nine.

Mr. N. Kumar, President, Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, presided and gave away the prizes to the professionals. Mr. R. Gandhi, President, Cosmopolitan Club, gave away the amateur trophies.

Leading pro scores: Vijay Kumar 68, 68, 71, 72 - 279; Gaurav Ghei 71, 71, 69, 70 - 281; Shiv Prakash 71, 72, 71, 68 - 282; Mukesh Kumar 72, 69, 72, 69 - 282; Rafiq Ali 74, 72, 71, 66 - 283; Sanjay Kumar 71, 73, 70, 69 - 283; Amish Jaitha 73, 70, 70, 71 - 284; Amit Dube 72, 71, 75, 68 - 286; Indrajit Bhalotia 71, 75, 69, 71 - 286; Basad Ali 72, 69, 74, 72 - 287.

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