Irina Brar does it with ease

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 13. With a four-stroke lead in her kitty by the penultimate round, Irina Brar's prospects of defending the Northern India Open golf championship were undoubtedly strong. The 16-year-old made no mistake and drove home the advantage to grasp the 33rd edition with a seven-stroke verdict on Friday.

Though the standard of play was exemplified by the fact that no golfer managed a sub-par round throughout, Irina got reward for her consistency with an effort of 11-over 299. The victory at the Delhi Golf Club was the first of the season for Irina, who was the runner-up in the Southern India Open.

Irina scored a 74 in the final round for an easy win over her nearest rival, Parnita Garewal, whose challenge fizzled out after she had three bogeys before the turn. The Chandigarh- based Parnita shot a 77 to conclude at 306.

``I am happy as I played aggressively today. To have defeated someone like Parnita by such a margin also gives me satisfaction, '' said an elated Irina, who will soon leave for a tournament in Hong Kong.

Irina was always comfortably placed, despite her two double bogeys in the outward nine. Two birdies by Irina, on the first and the fourth holes, combined with Parnita's bogeys on the fourth, the seventh and the eighth holes, enabled Irina to gain a five-stroke lead at the half-way mark in the final round.

Though Parnita improved her drives and approach shots considerably, she failed to make the birdie putts to put pressure on Irina. On the other hand, Irina chose the safer path to the greens and salvaged pars with some long putts.

Irina, who had a birdie on the par-3 12th hole, looked in fine touch with her chipping and putting, which had been troubling her in the earlier rounds. It was a worthy win for the top-ranked youngster who looked a rung above the rest throughout the championship.

Shruti Khanna, who won the Southern India Open championship, had a drastic fall in her form. Carding 15-over for the day, the local amateur finished the joint seventh at 41-over.

The third place went to Anjali Chopra at 313 while Ayesha Kapur, who finished runner-up to Irina in the junior category, claimed the fourth spot with a tally of 317 along with Shalini Malik.

lThe results: Irina Brar (77, 73, 75, 74) 299; Parnita Garewal (83, 73, 73, 77) 306; Anjali Chopra (82, 77, 74, 80) 313; Ayesh Kapur (79, 78, 82, 78), Shalini Malik (78, 77, 80, 82) 317; Guneet Raikhy (79, 84, 81, 79) 323; Lalita Subramaniam (84, 82, 82, 81), Shruti Khanna (78, 83, 81, 87) 329; Mayali Talwar (86, 78, 84, 83) 331; Vandana Aggarwal (83, 88, 76, 85) 332.

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