Chiranjeev finishes joint second

TOCHIGI (JAPAN), JULY 1. Chiranjeev Milkha Singh let slip the best chance he had to win an event on the lucrative Japanese PGA Tour and settled for the tied second spot in the $ 970,000 Iiyama Cup golf tournament here on Sunday.

Chiranjeev shot a pedestrian four-over 76 in the final round for an aggregate of eight-under 280, as stormy conditions effectively ruined his chances. Chiranjeev was placed alongside Colombia's Eduardo Herrera (68, 68, 72, 72), one shot clear of Hidemichi Tanaka and Dean Wilson.

Chiranjeev started the final round with a bogey on the par-4 first hole and was four-over after seven holes with further bogeys on the fourth, sixth and seventh holes. Birdies on the par-5 eighth and 10th helped him recover somewhat, but he dropped shots again on the 14th and 15th. The Indian's third and final birdie came on the par-5 16th and he signed off with a bogey on the 18th that denied him a lone second place finish.

This, however, was his best finish on the Tour this season. The Chandigarh-based pro was seven shots behind the winner, Japan's Katsumasa Miyamoto, who shared the overnight lead with Chiranjeev after the third round on Saturday. The Japanese came up with a superior show, firing a round of 69, despite strong winds and rain sweeping the Hourai Country Club here. Only three players could break par on a blustery, rainy day. In fact, so poor were the scores that the average scored of the 68 players was 4.78 over par.

The top Indian had finished runner-up in the 1999 Kirin Open after losing to Korea's Choi Kyoung-Ju in a play-off. A victory would have been the first by an Indian golfer outside the Asian PGA Tour.

``I am a bit disappointed that it finished this way. But it was so windy that one could hardly stand on the ball. Miyamoto played such a fantastic round under the conditions that he deserved the win,'' Chiranjeev said. ``I look at this way... last week I finished fourth in the Mizuno Open and this week I am second. Hopefully, I will win the Hiroshima Open next week,'' he added.

``However, it is a good feeling to be up there on the leadergroup after almost 18 months of struggling with my injury. These last two weeks have proved that I still have the competitive juices flowing in me,'' he said.

The scores: Katsumasa Miyamoto (69, 67, 68, 69) 273; Chiranjeev Milkha Singh (66, 70, 68, 76) and Eduardo Herrera (Col) (68, 68, 72, 72) 280; Hidemichi Tanaka (69, 70, 68, 74) and Dean Wilson (69, 71, 68, 73) 281; Kiyoshi Murota (72, 69, 67, 74) 282; Hajime Meshiai (65, 72, 73, 73) and Kazuhiro Takami (67, 71, 71, 74) 283.

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