Pappan regains lead

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 10. Ranjit Singh stood outside the tournament office at the Cosmo-TNGF golf course on Friday afternoon for a short while, staring at the wall. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he quickly walked in, grabbed a copy of The Hindu carrying a photograph of his and briskly walked away.

The Chandigarh golfer knew he's had his day in the sun in the Rs. 7.5 lakh The Hindu Open. He knew too, after the disaster of Friday, that it would take a major miracle to recapture the glory of his second round performance on the final day.

In sport, as in life, there are two kinds of pressures: the first is common enough, the one that we face when we are down and out. As tough as this seems, it is nowhere as difficult to handle as the pressure we face when we are on top.

As it turned out, Ranjit Singh fell far too short when it came to dealing with the pressures of being in the driver's seat as the devastated golfer from Chandigarh began with a double bogey and ended with a triple bogey for a round of 83 which leaves him sharing the 19th spot with three others less than 24 hours after catapulting himself into the lead.

Then again, no matter Ranjit's problems, the tournament is intriguingly poised with a string of good golfers in with a chance on Saturday, not the least the first day hero Pappan from Delhi who recaptured the lead with a two under 70 for an aggregate of 208.

A stroke behind Pappan is Kolkata's Yusuf Ali who shot a three under 69 today and four away from Pappan is the defending champion Vijay Kumar, as good a final day player as you'll see on the Indian Tour.

Five behind the leader is Mohd. Islam from Patna at 213 and at 214 there are three experienced men, Rohtas Singh, Shiv Prakash and Mukesh Kumar. In the event, the four-round tournament is rolling towards what is widely expected to be a seat-edge finish on Saturday.

``I am very happy with the way I am playing. There is still lot of work to be done but I am glad that I am in the lead again,'' said Pappan, who shot three birdies and a bogey on the front nine and play the back nine to par for a 70. ``There are a lot of good players just behind me but I am confident about my chances,'' he said.

Yusuf Ali will like his chances too. Not having won a tournament on the Tour yet, he has shown the hunger and commitment necessary to pull off a big one. The stocky Kolkata golfer shot birdies on the 6th, 14th and 18th holes for a 69 today and said that he was happy with the way his game has come along, the result of long hours of practice during the off season.

Vijay Kumar has improved steadily through the three rounds and he would like to believe that the four-stroke difference can be made up on the last day.

The champion had four birdies and two bogeys and said that he was not going to part with his title in a hurry on Saturday. ``This one is too close to my heart. I will do my very best to retain the trophy,'' said Vijay Kumar.

In the amateur event, Gurunath Meiyappan shot a 74 and retained his lead with a three round 220, three strokes ahead of C.V. Yudvir who shot a par 72 today.

lLeading pro scores: 208: Pappan; 209: Yusuf Ali; 212: Vijay Kumar; 213: Mohd. Islam; 214: Shiv Prakash, Rohtas Singh, Mukesh Kumar; 215: Vishal Singh, Ali Sher, Sheeraz Khalra; 216: Rahul Ganapathy, Basad Ali, Randhir Ghotra.

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