Randhawa wins SRF Open

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 6. Jyoti Randhawa underlined his supremacy with an authoritative 16-under 272 on way to winning the SRF Open championship at the Delhi Golf Club course here on Friday. He had six strokes to spare from the second-placed Arjun Singh after he carded the best card of the day, a five-under 67.

Randhawa made his win look an easy one even as Arjun Singh struggled with his putting all through the home stretch. With Randhawa and Arjun separated by just two strokes before the first tee on the fourth day, one expected a close contest. But it was not to be. Four birdies, an eagle, and just one bogey took him to 67, but Arjun, who parred 10 holes at a stretch, had to settle for a one-under 71 for an aggregate of 10-under 278.

``Today I played quite well and it was to my satisfaction. After birdieing the first hole, I held myself together and did not try to do anything extraordinary,'' Randhawa, who pocketed the winner's cheque of Rs. 1,37,700, said.

``My putting was bad today and such performance wasn't going to win me the tournament. That (missed putts) was the losing factor,'' summed up Arjun Singh, who had to make 36 putts to complete the round on Friday.

Mukesh Kumar (281) did well with a card of three-under 69 to grab the sole possession of the third spot, behind Arjun Singh. This effort took him closer to Vijay Kumar on the Indian PGA Order of Merit list with just two tournaments remaining on the Tour this season. Vijay Kumar is leading Mukesh Kumar by a mere Rs. 16,465.

Ashok Kumar kept up his reputation as the best amateur on the Indian scene with a one-over 73. Ashok Kumar's three-under 285 for the tournament was the best among the seven amatuers who made the cut in this Rs. 8.5 lakh event. Amit Luthra (292) was second among the amateurs, and joint 20th in the overall standings.

Randhawa's win was his third on the domestic tour from four tournaments he played this season. Having got a welcome break from the Davidoff Asian PGA Tour where he is a regular, Randhawa made the most of the opportunity at his favourite course. He has won back-to-back Hero Honda Masters on the DGC and with Friday's big win he extended his rule over the course.

On Friday, Randhawa attacked the first hole in right earnest, managing a birdie. A bogey for Arjun on the second hole gave Randhawa a four-stroke cushion which he never gave up. There were several close birdie calls for both on the outward nine but luck was not in their favour. On the par-3 five, Randhawa had a birdie chance, but a fine putt from about 30 feet saw the ball roll on the rim and stay on the edge. There were similar `mishaps' for Arjun also.

There was some spectacular hitting on the eighth hole, which both Randhawa and Arjun eagled. Arjun took an aerial route over the eucalyptus trees with a driver helping himself to set up a chance for the eagle. Randhawa was equally good hitting a curling shot before putting from three feet.

On the back nine, Randhawa was more relaxed and it fetched him good results. He birdied the 10th and 12th holes to take a six- stroke lead before losing one shot on the 14th. He regained the lead on the 17th while Arjun parred all the holes from the ninth..

``My policy was to attack the first hole and then play conservatively. Just a four-shot lead on this course after the front nine is not enough, so I was a bit apprehensive,'' Randhawa said. ``If he (Arjun) had done as he did yesterday, the contest would have got more closer.''

It was Randhawa's maiden win as a pro in the oldest professional tournament. He had won it as an amateur in 1992. Randhawa now takes part in the Indian PGA Masters next week at the Army Golf Course before leaving to play in the Kirin Open on the Japanese PGA Tour.

The scores: Jyoti Randhawa (69, 65, 71, 67) 272; Arjun Singh (73, 66, 68, 71) 278; Mukesh Kumar (72, 68, 72, 69) 281; Shiv Prakash (72, 70, 68, 72) and Sanjay Kumar (71, 68, 71, 72) 282; S.S.P. Chaurasia (71, 70, 74, 70) and Ashok Kumar (A) (70, 71, 71, 73) 285; Gaurav Ghei (74, 73, 71, 69), Firoz Ali (73, 70, 74, 70), Rafiq Ali (73, 67, 76, 71) and Yusuf Ali (70, 72, 73, 72) 287; Ranjit Singh (70, 76, 69, 73) and Ali Sher (69, 74, 71, 74) 288; Vivek Bhandari (72, 79, 69, 69), Vijay Kumar (76, 67, 73, 73), Vishal Singh (71, 72, 73, 73), Amritinder Singh (71, 74, 69, 75) and Uttam Singh Mundy (72, 69, 73, 75) 289.

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