The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Harinder downs Mukesh

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Saturday, Apr 30, 2005

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Sport - Golf

Harinder downs Mukesh

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: It took three long birdies over four holes from Harinder Gupta to break Mukesh Kumar's will to fight for a place in the semifinals of the All-India SRF matchplay golf championship here on Friday.

Harinder, confidence personified after knocking out Arjun Singh on Thursday, produced the kind of performance needed to leave tour leader Mukesh shaken on the back nine and went on to record a 2 and 1 victory at the Delhi Golf Club course. He now faces last year's quarterfinalist Sanjay Kumar who destroyed Gast Ram 5 and 3.

From the other half of the draw, a vastly experienced Uttam Singh Mundy overcame a spell of heatstroke and a 0-3 deficit to nail S. S. P. Chaurasia 1 up in the day's closest contest. Mundy's rival in Saturday's semifinal will be Rafick Ali who toyed with fellow Kolkata pro Nabin Mondal 5 and 3.

In effect, the Harinder-Mukesh contest was won and lost in the space of three holes. All square at the turn after the two had won a hole each, Harinder sank a sensational 25-foot downhill putt on the 10th hole to move ahead. He doubled the lead with a 15-foot birdie on the 12th and reproduced a similar putt on the 14th hole where the ball almost lipped out of the cup before dropping in.

This left Mukesh shattered. At this point, Mukesh found himself three down in spite of not dropping a shot all day. He trailed because his birdie putts just did not drop even from five feet.

After the players halved the 15th, Mukesh birdied the 16th to cut down Harinder's lead. But on the par-3 17th hole, both players found par and the contest stood decided.

"I had the confidence to play well today," said Harinder who had pipped Mukesh on the final day to win the Chandigarh Open title this season. "My putting was excellent and that made the difference."

Mukesh, who had never crossed the second round in three previous appearances in this tournament, agreed with Harinder and said, "Harinder won today because of his putting. I must admit I putted badly."

Thrilling match

Mundy's victory over Chaurasia was more thrilling. Down by three after four holes, Mundy clipped Chaurasia's lead by firing a 20-foot birdie on the seventh. On the eighth both players birdied and suddenly, Mundy's putting started to come good.

Pressure started telling on Chaurasia who lost to a par on the ninth and birdie on the 10th to find the scores level. Carrying on the momentum, Mundy took the lead on the 11th with a par. After the next hole was halved, Mundy's stretched his lead to two with a par on the 13th. Trailing by two holes, Chaurasia birdied the 15th and 17th holes but bogeyed the 16th to be a stroke behind on the 18th tee. On the par-five final hole, both fired birdies and Mundy came out a worthy winner.

The results: Quarterfinals: Harinder Gupta bt Mukesh Kumar 2 and 1; Sanjay Kumar bt Gast Ram 5 and 3; Uttam Singh Mundy bt S. S. P. Chaurasia 1 up; Rafick Ali bt Nabin Mondal 5 and 3.

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