Randhawa wins SRF Open in style

Jyoti Randhawa fired a superb five-under 67 to ensure his third title in four tournaments on the Indian Golf Tour this season.

Randhawa tallied 16-under 272 to etch a huge six-stroke victory over runner-up Arjun Singh in the Rs 850,000 SRF Open Golf championship, at the par-72 Delhi Golf Club course on Friday.

Randhawa's victory fetched him the winner’s cheque of Rs 1,37,700, while Arjun Singh had to be satisfied with Rs 95,200 after submitting a one-under 71 card on the final day.

Mhow’s Mukesh Kumar finished a distant third at five-under 281, while the duo of Shiv Prakash (Kanpur) and Sanjay Kumar (Lucknow) were joint fourth, one stroke behind Mukesh.

Randhawa's consistency on the Indian Tour has almost assumed Tiger Woods-like stature. The lanky Gurgaon-based golfer followed up his Xerox Open and Honda Siel-Nike PGA championship victories with this one. On Friday, Randhawa played like a true professional. Weighing the pros and cons, he attacked the easy holes while the tougher ones were negotiated with a bit of care.

The birdie start to his round was part of a well-planned move.

"I attacked the first hole and once the birdie was under my belt, I decided to play safe from the second to the sixth," said the twice Hero Honda Masters champion.

A 2-iron, 4-iron combination on the par-5 eighth left him with a six feet eagle putt, which he duly made and had a four-stroke cushion over Arjun at the turn.

On his return journey, Randhawa caught fire, sinking 12 feet birdie putts on the 10th and 12th. His only dropped shot of the day occurred on the 14th where he messed up his second shot. After yet another birdie on the 17th, came the familiar sight of Randhawa raising his hands in triumph on the 18th green of DGC.

"I played really well this week but there is still a lot of work to be done," said Jyoti. "It is great playing at home. The kind of support I get here makes me want to come back for more all the time," signed off the champion golfer.

Arjun Singh had an awful day on the greens. Indeed he was but a shadow of the golfer who gave Jyoti Randhawa many a restless moment yesterday. With just two strokes separating the golfers at the start of the day's play, Randhawa's birdie start widened the gap to three. Arjun made things that much more difficult for himself with a dropped shot on the second. A missed birdie on the following hole, only rubbed more salt into his wound.

Arjun eagled the eighth with a 25-feet putt but with Jyoti's also eagling the hole, there was no change in the equation. Birdies were desperately needed at this stage but Arjun could only manage to par the remaining holes.

"I carded 35 or 36 putts today and when playing against a competitor like Jyoti, that is the last thing you do," said the golfer whose previous win came at the 1998 Wills Masters at Gurgaon.

"However, considering the fact that I have only recently recovered from a back injury, I am pretty happy with the way I played this week," he added.

Mukesh Kumar did his quest for a second successive 'Player of the Year’ award no harm with a third place finish. Mukesh carded a bogey free round of three-under 69, which included a birdie on the eighth sandwiched between the ones on the starting and finishing holes.

ASHOK WINS AMATEUR TITLE: Ashok Kumar submitted his first over-par card of the tournament, but that did not prevent him from taking the amateur title at three-under 285, seven strokes better than his mentor Amit Luthra.

SCORES (after 72 holes): 272 _ Jyoti Randhawa (69,65,71,67); 278 _ Arjun Singh (73,66,68,71); 281 _ Mukesh Kumar (72,68,72,69); 282 _ Shiv Prakash (72,70,68,72), Sanjay Kumar (71,68,71,72); 285 _ Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (71,70,74,70); 287 _ Gaurav Ghei (74,73,71,69), Feroz Ali (73,70,74,70), Rafiq Ali (73,67,76,71), Yusuf Ali (70,72,73,72); 288 _ Ranjit Singh (70,76,69,73), Ali Sher (69,74,71,74); 289 _ Vivek Bhandari (72,79,69,69), Vijay Kumar (76,67,73,73), Vishal Singh (71,72,73,73), Amritinder Singh (71,74,69,75), Uttam Singh Mundy (72,69,73,75); Amateurs: 285 _ Ashok Kumar (70,71,71,73); 292 _ Amit Luthra (70,75,74,73); 302 _ Ali Sher (81,72,74,75)