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Mundy wins The Hindu Open

By Our Special Correspondent

Uttam Singh Mundy poses with the winner's cheque at the The Hindu Open golf tournament in Chennai on Saturday.

Chennai Sept. 13. A seasoned customer with eye on the prize, a young caddie-turned professional with dreams in his eyes, and a finish where the winner could not be sighted...well, almost!

Uttam Singh Mundy swung around in anguish as the ball curled alongside the lip of the cup. Had it sunk in, he would have won The Hindu Open in the first play-off.

Was this going to be a classic case of a slip between the cup and the lip?

Not quite. C. Muniyappa, with the crowd egging him on, attempted to hit the edge of the green with his tee shot in the second play-off, but the ball went `out of bounds.' After being five on, he chose to concede the match.

So after a final day of the sixth leg of the Hero Honda golf tour, that had all the twists of a wicked thriller, Mundy, it was, who walked away with the first prize of Rs. 1,13,400 in the Rs. 7-lakh event, co-sponsored by the Accel group and the VVA Constructions at the Cosmo-TNGF course. It was also his first triumph in Chennai.

Muniyappa, in second place with 213 on Friday, produced a three-under 69, and did run Mundy agonisingly close. It could well have been three-way tie had the consistent Vijaykumar (283) birdied on the 18th.

In the end, it was the tall, bearded Mundy, who sported a smile. Beginning the day in the sixth place with 215, the Kolkata golfer went into overdrive with four birdies in the first five holes; he had eight in all on Saturday.

Returning an impressive card of 67 for a total of 282, Mundy was in control for most part. Except during the climactic 18th hole.

Seven under until that stage, Mundy, double bogeyed, dumping the ball on the rough and then chipping beyond the fairway. He had also provided Muniyappa a life-line.

"I played the tee shot with a three-iron. I should have stuck to my normal style. Some things do cross your mind when you miss so narrowly, but I stayed positive,'' said Mundy. He had choked, but soon regrouped.

"This is the day when The Hindu is celebrating the completion of 125 years. It's a nice coincidence that I won today. I will remember this day. I will remember this victory," said Mundy, sponsored by Air India and Eveready.

And he had words of praise for Muniyappa, "he has a good swing, and looks a good prospect."

The Bangalore-based Muniyappa, who took home Rs. 78,400, admitted feeling the heat in the play-off. Nevertheless, it was a creditable performance from the young golfer. "I am looking forward positively to the rest of the season. The Karnataka Golf Association has helped me a lot," he said.

Overnight leader Rahul Ganapathy, finished fourth with 284, while Ashok Kumar fired a 68 to share the fifth place with Feroz Ali (285). And Amritinder Singh, who whipped up a hole-in-one on the par-three fourth hole, ended up sixth (287).

In the amateur category, the Rajamundry-based ONGC golfer L. Selvadurai (302), inclusive of a par-72 on Saturday, topped the field. Gurunath Meiyappan (306) had to settle for the second place.

Mr. K.C. Raghunathan, vice-president, Tamil Nadu Golf Federation, gave away the prizes.

Top professional scores after 72 holes: 282 - Uttam Singh Mundy (71, 74, 70, 67), C. Muniyappa (71, 72, 70, 69); 283 - Vijay Kumar (72, 72, 69, 70); 284 - Rahul Ganapathy (70, 73, 69, 72); 285 - Feroz Ali (73, 70, 70, 72), Ashok Kumar (74, 74, 69, 68); 287 - Amritinder Singh (74, 73, 72, 68); 288 - Sanjay Kumar (71, 72, 70, 75), Pappan (74, 72, 74, 68); 289 - Mukesh Kumar (71, 71, 75, 72); 290 - Rafiq Ali (70, 73, 73, 74); 291 - Nabin Mondal (75, 74, 70, 72), Yusuf Ali (74, 73, 72, 72). Amateurs: 302 - L. Selvadurai (78, 73, 79, 72); 306 - Gurunath Meiyappan (70, 78, 83, 75).

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