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Vijay Kumar triumphs

By Our Special Correspondent

Chennai Aug. 17. As the ball rolled agonisingly into the pin for a par on the last hole Vijay Kumar looked up. The face mirrored the joy of victory, and palpably masked the mood of anguish and frustration arising out of the devalued quality of his performance in the final round of the TNGF Open on the Cosmo-TNGF course on Saturday.

He had won a back-to-back title following the victory in second leg of the Hero Honda series at Bangalore last week. But none, including Vijay Kumar, would agree that the final round did credit to this champion, who flunked repeatedly at crucial moments. In fact, the final putt must have come as a great relief to the Lucknow-based professional.

The burly 33-year old Vijay Kumar, however, earned the top prize money of Rs. 1,62,000 and also the distinction of being at the helm in the Order of Merit for the current year. How much Vijay Kumar benefited from the eight-under he played on the opening day can be illustrated by the two over 74 he carded today.

Something seemed to inhibit this doughty warrior who began the campaign with a four-stroke lead against his nearest rival, Mukesh Kumar, the defending champion, who ultimately had to settle for a joint second place with SSP Chaurasia whose four-under 68 was the brightest part of the final round. Neither Vijay Kumanr nor Mukesh Kumar showed that touch of dominance.

On the contrary, the athletically-built Uttam Singh Mundy from Kolkatta produced a couple of classic moments when he fought his way out difficult positions and bunkers. #While the top three, Vijay Kumar, Mukesh Kumar and Uttam Singh Mundy, were struggling to come to terms with the heat and the soft conditions rendered by the overnight rain, SSP Chaurasia of Kolkatta invited attention elsewhere for his confident approach and missed the second spot by a whisker as it were, missing an easy par on the 16th.

Though Vijay Kumar said he was under no pressure because of the fairly good lead against his name, the body language as he moved from hole to hole did indeed suggest that concentration was not his close ally. After what looked to be a decent start with a birdie and added one more in the seventh, but bogeys in the 5th, 8th, 14th and 15th clearly projected him to be below par. "I am disgusted with my putting today. In a way, I should thank Mukesh who also had problems with putting,'' the 33-year old Vijay Kumar admitted.

Mukesh Kumar managed to get into splendid positions on the greens but a couple of close misses caused a good deal of chagrin. "It was a big lead. I was not putting well,'' Mukesh, the Champion golfer of the year said. All that Mukesh could gather were two birdies (2, 18) while he bogeyed the 13th, 14th, and finally finished with a one over 73.

Chaurasia's best effort came perhaps at the wrong point of the four rounds. Yet, it was good enough to fetch him Rs. 87,000 in prize money. "It was a good round. I am happy with my hitting and putting,'' said the 24-year old from Kolkatta. He had five birdies and an one over in the 18th. Feroz Ali and Ranjit Singh also had a four-under 68 card in the final round.

Sandeep Syal continued his excellent showing with a one-under 71 and finished 13th in the list.

Maj. Gen. Anup Jamwal, gave away the prizes. Mr. N. Srinivasan, President, Tamil Nadu Golf Federation, presided and Mr. S. Ramamurthy, Tournament Director, proposed a vote of thanks.

The scores (fourth and final round): Vijay Kumar (Lucknow) (64, 68,70,74,276), Mukesh Kumar (Mhow) (69,67,70,73, 279), SSP Chaurasia (Kolkatta) (71, 69, 71, 68, 279), Feroz Ali (Kolkatta) (72, 67, 73, 68, 280), Uttam Singh Mundy (Kolkatta) (67, 70, 70, 73, 280), Ranjit Singh (Chandigarh) (74, 66, 73, 68, 281), Pappan (Delhi) (67, 73, 70, 72, 282), S, Madiah (Bangalore) (72, 72, 70, 69, 283), Ali Sher (Delhi) (72, 72, 71, 69, 284), Digvijay Singh (Meerut) (71, 74, 69, 70, 297).#Amateurs: Sandeep Syal (71, 73, 71, 71 2860, C.Yudvir (76, 77, 71, 69, 297), B. Gurunath ( 76, 75, 71, 77, 299) and L. Selvadurai (76,75,77,76, 304).

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