Monday, Feb 18, 2002
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Golf
A happy Harmeet Kahlon of India poses with the trophy after winning the Hero Honda Masters golf championship at Gurgaon on Sunday. - Photo: S. Subramanium
GURGAON, FEB. 17. Towards the closing moments, for someone looking for his first title as a professional in three seasons, Harmeet Kahlon handled the pressure rather well. Mercifully, for the gallery of over 2,000 present to watch the climax the $300,000 Hero Honda Masters at the DLF Golf and Country Club, the 31-year- old from Chandigarh did not make them miss any heart-beats. In fact, his finishing touch was a bogey-putt from two feet. Tied at seven-under with Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng in the leader-group, Kahlon extricated himself from the bushes on the 17th hole and went on to sink an eight-foot birdie to snatch the decisive one-stroke lead. On the final hole, Kahlon drove superbly while Marksaeng stopped at the rough, some 60 metres behind. It was here that the Thai's powerful second shot crashed into watching crowd to the far left of the green. Kahlon, twice disturbed by the cellphones that went off, kept his focus and hit over the water to land on the rough to the right of the pin. Thereafter, both players chipped and two-putted. The result was, title for Kahlon and a shared second spot with two others, for Marksaeng. For the record, Harmeet returned his second successive score of one-under 70 for a winning tally of seven-under 277. Marksaeng, who started the final round as a joint-leader with Vijay Kumar, shot a 72 and tied with Korea's James Oh and compatriot Thammanoon Sriroj at 278. Each received $22,330 after James Oh fired the day's best card of 65 and Sriroj shot a 67. Kahlon's reward for four days of steady golf was a cheque of $48,450, a crystal vase and a two-year exemption on the Asian PGA Tour. He has also catapulated to the second spot, behind Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee on the APGA Order of Merit. Add to it the huge dose of confidence induced by the triumph besides the respect of his contemporaries. And the day became a truly memorable one in Kahlon's career. Kahlon may not have realised his dream of winning a medal in the Asian Games in 1998, but his success today ensured that the Masters title remained in the country. It was Jyoti Randhawa in 1997 and 1998 before Arjun Atwal won in 2000. The event was not held last year. ``It's great to win your first professional title in front of the your own crowd,'' said an understandably jubilant Kahlon soon after winning the title. ``I guess, there was some `extra force' working out there for me. I played to a plan and made just one three-putt (on the fifth hole day). But I must say that the fact that I've actually won the title is yet to sink in.'' Kahlon, a self-confessed firm believer in God, was quick to acknowledge the people behind his success. ``I owe a lot to a lot of people, who have believed in me even before I turned a pro. My employers Oil India, sponsors India Cements and Hero Honda, who have supported my training. I also owe it to my (Italian) trainer Donato di Poznano has been of great help and sports psychologist Dr. Deborah Graham from the U.S.'' The making of another Indian champion in the country's prestigious golf event put into the background the not-so- inspiring last day efforts of the other home contenders. Atwal fifth Arjun Atwal's 70, including bogeys on the 16th and 18th holes made him share the fifth spot once again. In fact, Atwal maintained his record of being a top-five finisher in all his appearances in the event so far. Vijay Kumar lost his overnight one-stroke lead on the opening hole itself and then struggled all the way to a 74. He shared the seventh spot with Daniel Chopra at 280. Gaurav Ghei failed to produce his customary last-round charge and shot a 73. This tally of 281 gave him the joint ninth spot with two others. Chiranjeev Milkha Singh and twice champion Jyoti Randhawa tied for the 15th spot after rounds of 74 and 72, respectively. Kapil takes amateur crown Kapil Dev won the amateur title with a tally of 301. He finished 13 strokes ahead of Amit Luthra, the only other amateur in the field. The final scores (Indians unless stated): Harmeet Kahlon (69, 68, 70, 70) 277; Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) (68, 66, 72, 72), James Oh (Kor) (73, 68, 72, 65) and Thammanoon Sriroj (Tha) (72, 69, 70, 67) 278; Steve Jurgensen (U.S.) (70, 72, 67, 70) and Arjun Atwal (65, 74, 70, 70) 279; Vijay Kumar (71, 64, 71, 74) and Daniel Chopra (Swe) (67, 71, 70, 72) 280; Chung Joon (Kor) (70, 70, 72, 69), Clay Devers (U.S.) (69, 70, 72, 70) and Gaurav Ghei (68, 71, 69, 73) 281; Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) (73, 68, 70, 71), Tatsuhiko Takahashi (Jap) (67, 69, 74, 72) and Craig Kamps (RSA) (68, 71, 68, 75) 282; Chiranjeev Milkha Singh (68, 65, 76, 74), Jyoti Randhawa (71, 69, 71, 72), Greg Hanrahan (U.S.) (73, 71, 69, 70), Lam Chih Bing (Sin) (67, 72, 72, 72) and Rodrigo Cuello (Phi) (70, 72, 69, 72) 283; Anthony Kang (Kor) (72, 68, 73, 71), Rick Gibson (Can) (69, 69, 74, 72), Brad Kennedy (Aus) (73, 71, 71, 69) and Simon Yates (Sco) (73, 73, 68, 70) 284.
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