The Hindu : Vijay, Marksaeng in the van

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 17, 2002

Sport

Sport - Golf

Vijay, Marksaeng in the van
By Rakesh Rao

Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng (left) raises his hat to acknowledge the crowd's cheers after his eagle on the 15th hole as Vijay Kumar of India walks across the green on the third day of the Hero Honda Masters golf championship in Gurgaon on Saturday. - Photo: S. Subramanium

GURGAON, FEB. 16. On Saturday, the tricky pin-positions on the manicured greens of the par-71 DLF Golf and Country Club course pricked Chiranjeev Milkha Singh the most.

As a result, like Arjun Atwal on the second day, Chiranjeev, too, tumbled from top of the leaderboard. Still, for those waiting to see yet another Indian triumph in the $300,000 Hero Honda Masters golf championship on Sunday afternoon, there is plenty of hope.

On a day when only 16 out of 70 players managed sub- par scores, Vijay Kumar's par round was enough to give him the joint-lead with Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng at seven-under 206. The 36-year-old Marksaeng, who led until the last hole, double- bogeyed the 18th for a 72. Chiranjeev finished with a disappointing 76 - 11 strokes more than what he took to complete the round on Friday.

Even as Chiranjeev and Atwal, following a 70, shared the seventh spot at 209, Harmeet Kahlon, with Craig Kamps for company, also fired a 70, to stay a stroke behind the leaders at 207.

Gaurav Ghei, known for producing some stunning last- round scores on big occasions, placed himself just two strokes behind the leaders at 208 after a round of 69. Keeping Ghei company at the fifth spot was another crowd favourite, Daniel Chopra. The Swedish passport holder, who grew up playing at the Delhi Golf Club, struggled with his putting today but still managed a 70.

With five Indians in the top three groups, followed by Jyoti Randhawa in the fifth, motivation will not be a problem for those still undecided on walking the course on the final afternoon.

On Sunday, Vijay Kumar, who had finished second-best to Ghei in the $500,000 Gadgil Western Masters in 1995 in New Delhi, will get another chance to get his maiden title on the Asian PGA Tour.

Today, Vijay's birdies on the second and sixth holes stood nullified by bogeys on the third and 18th holes.

Marksaeng, too, played steadily and sank a 15-feet birdie on the sixth hole. But it was his 75-yard `eagle' shot at the par-four 15th that was the talking point of the day. He used his lob-wedge to a deadly effect as the ball spun back nearly 10 feet on the green and filled the cup.

A little earlier, he had dropped a stroke on the 13th. But what Marksaeng regretted the most was his 6-iron shot on the 18th. The ball went into the water and eventually resulted in Marksaeng signing off with a double-bogey.

Chiranjeev would not like to remember this day. He dropped strokes on the first, second, 12th and 17th holes besides a double-bogey on the 15th. His lone birdie, from eight feet, came on the 13th.

In sharp contrast to Chiranjeev's start, Kahlon birdied the first two holes. He then missed a chip-and-putt on the fourth hole to drop his lone shot for the day. Thereafter, it was par all the way.

Like Kahlon, Ghei also began with a birdie but bogeys on the second and fourth holes pushed him back. In fact, on the second hole, his second shot hit the pin and rolled back 30 yards off the green. After taking the turn at 37, Ghei sank around 10-foot birdie-putts on the 10th, 13th and 14th holes before finding pars on the rest to remain in hunt.

Much before Vijay and Marksaeng emerged as leaders, it was Kamps who had moved to the top of the leaderboard after an `eagle' and three birdies for a front-nine 31. But three bogeys, as against just one birdie, on the last five holes took his eventual score up to 68.

The scores (Indians unless stated): Vijay Kumar (71, 64, 71) and Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) (68, 66, 72) 206; Harmeet Kahlon (69, 68, 70) and Craig Kamps (RSA) (68, 71, 68) 207; Gaurav Ghei (68, 71, 69) and Daniel Chopra (Swe) (67, 71, 70) 208; Chiranjeev Milkha Singh (68, 65, 76), Steve Jurgensen (US) (70, 72, 67) and Arjun Atwal (65, 74, 70) 209; Tatsuhiko Takahashi (Jap) (67, 69, 74) 210; Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) (73, 68, 70), Thammonoon Sriroj (Tha) (72, 69, 70), Jyoti Randhawa (71, 69, 71), Clay Devers (US) (69, 70, 72), Rodrigo Cuello (Phi) (70, 72, 69) and Lam Chih Sing (Sin) (67, 72, 72) 211; Rick Gibson (Can) (69, 69, 74), Chung Joon (Kor) (70, 70, 72) and Edward Loar (US) (69, 72, 71) 212; James Oh (Kor) (73, 68, 72), Anthony Kang (Kor) (72, 68, 73), Olle Nordberg (Swe) (75, 70, 68), Greg Hanrahan (US) (73, 71, 69) and Michael Christensen (US) (66, 74, 73) 213.

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