The Hindu : Sport : Randhawa wins Indian Open

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 15, 2007
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Sport

Sport

Randhawa wins Indian Open

Rakesh Rao

Gangjee fires a final day 66 to take the third spot

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

ONE FOR THE ALBUM: Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa stayed three strokes clear of Chang Tse-Peng to become only the second player to lift three titles at the Indian Open.

NEW DELHI: No playoff, no chewed fingered nails and no last-minute suspense over the making of the champion. Eventually, it was pure joy for a crowd of over 5,000 that surrounded the 18th green of the Delhi Golf Club to watch Jyoti Randhawa seal a record-equalling triumph in the $500,000 Hero Honda Indian Open golf on Sunday.

Randhawa made it by leading all through the final round for a card of three-under 69 that gave him a winning tally of 13-under 275. He stayed three strokes clear of Chinese Taipei’s Chang Tse-Peng, the only player who posed some kind of threat after Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat’s game fell to pieces on the front-nine.

In the euphoria of Randhawa’s victory, the gallant comeback of Rahil Gangjee was pushed to the background. Gangjee fired a final day 66, including an ‘eagle’ on the par-5 14th hole, to take the third spot worth $30,500.

Defining moment

Chang, who settled for $54,250 after a 68, was playing two groups ahead of Randhawa on the 17th hole when he brought down the Indian’s lead to one-stroke after a birdie. A close finish looked on cards until Randhawa let fly an 8-iron second shot on the par-four 16th and holed it from 171 metres to enlarge his lead to three shots.

This was the defining moment of the days’ play. Randhawa, waited for the confirmation from the crowd near the 16th green, clenched his fist in a triumphant gesture, punched the air and tossed away his club as he jumped for joy.

“I knew I had sealed it with that shot. With two holes to play, I only needed to play to par. I felt the pressure but tried to calm myself after getting quite elated and emotional (after the ‘eagle’). I think, I did a great job of keeping the pressure out,” said Randhawa after taking the top prize of $79,250.

More significant was the fact that the Randhawa also became only the second player and the first Indian to win the Open thrice. Randhawa, champion in 2000 and 2006, matched the record of Australian Peter Thomson who won in 1964, 1966 and 1976.

Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat, who led jointly with Randhawa at the start of the final round, bogeyed the fourth hole to make the Indian the sole leader for the first time in four days. Even as Nirat’s game slowly fell to pieces, Randhawa escaped with a bogey on the ninth hole after finding the left bushes with his tee-shot. On the back nine, Randhawa pared holes on either side of the ‘eagle’ that effectively decided the title.

Incredible

Incredibly, Randhawa has won all five times he played in India in the past 12 months. His triumphs include two Indian Open titles and three titles on the domestic PGTI Tour. He now travels to Portugal and Spain. “I will celebrate once I return home after three weeks,” said Randhawa before signing off.

The scores (Indians unless stated): Jyoti Randhawa (70, 69, 67, 69) 275; Chang Tse-Peng (Tpe) (68, 65, 77, 68) 278; Rahil Gangjee (71, 67, 76, 66) 280; Mitchell Brown (Aus) (74, 71, 69, 67) 281; Lu Wen Teh (Tpe) (68, 75, 67, 72), David Gleeson (Aus) (66, 68, 76, 72), Chapchai Nirat (Tha) (66, 67, 73, 76) and Mark Brown (Nzl) (71, 72, 64, 75) 282; Arjun Singh (73, 70, 71, 69), Ashok Kumar (68, 73, 73, 69) and S.S.P. Chowrasia (68, 71, 74, 70) 283; Peter Senior (Aus) (70, 70, 76, 68) 284; Jeev Milkha Singh (72, 74, 71, 68), Ross Bain (Sco) (69, 72, 73, 71) and Keith Horne (RSA) (71, 70, 73, 71) and Uttam Singh Mundy (70, 76, 68, 71) 285; Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha) (70, 70, 75, 71) and Mars Pucay (Phi) (70, 70, 74, 72) 286.

Other Indians: Vijay Kumar (72, 71, 71, 73) 287; Harinder Gupta (71, 74, 73, 70), Jaiveer Virk (73, 69, 73, 73) and Gaurav Ghei (66, 73, 70, 79) 288; Mukesh Kumar (73, 69, 77, 70) and Digvijay Singh (73, 70, 75, 71) 289; Chiragh Kumar (69, 74, 77, 71) 291; Gaganjeet Bhullar (71, 73, 74, 74), Harmeet Kahlon (71, 75, 72, 74) and Shammim Khan (68, 69, 77, 78) 292; Gurbaaz Mann (66, 76, 74, 77) 293; Rashid Khan (A) (74, 71, 74, 75) and Rahul Bakshi (A) (70, 73, 72, 79) 294; Gagan Verma (A) (72, 74, 78, 71) 295; Mohammad Islam (69, 77, 75, 75) 296; Firoz Ali (71, 74, 79, 73) 297; Amardip Malik (71, 74, 83, 71) 299; Rahul Ganapathy (69, 76, 76, 79) 300.

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