The Hindu : Sport : Chowrasia clinches Indian Masters

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Chowrasia clinches Indian Masters

Rakesh Rao

Receives the single biggest cheque by an Indian sportsperson in India

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

RISING TO THE OCCASION: Chowrasia produced the most important round of his 10-year professional career when it really mattered.

NEW DELHI: Sometimes, nice guys do win. And Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia showed how.

The 29-year-old from Kolkata produced the most important round of his 10-year professional career when it really mattered. Saving his best for the last day of the $2.5 million Emaar MGF Indian Masters golf championship, Chowrasia carded a flawless five-under 67 to rightfully claim the winner’s cheque of $416,660 (Rs. 1.61 crore) that came with an impressive trophy and an Omega watch at the Delhi Golf Club course here.

Fulfilling the hopes

A Sunday crowd of over 8,000 followed Chowaria and his playing partner Arjun Atwal all afternoon in anticipation of watching an Indian winner of the first-ever European Tour event staged in the country. Though Atwal faltered in perfect conditions, Chowrasia did not let them down.

Amid rising excitement, Chowrasia putted one last time on the 18th hole and firmly put the issue beyond nearest challenger Ireland’s Damien McGrane. The winning tally of 9-under 279 eventually gave Chowrasia a two-shot win. McGrane followed the champion to the final hole and signed off with a birdie for a final round of 70.

“This is the best day of my life because I played my best golf today. I can’t explain how I am feeling at the moment,” said an elated champion after receiving the single biggest cheque by an Indian sportsperson in India. By virtue of winning here, Chowrasia earned a three-year exemption to play on the European Tour.

Indians cash in

It turned out to be a highly productive event for the Indians. Even as Chowrasia was closing in on the top prize, Digvijay Singh tied for the fourth spot worth $115,500, Gaurav Ghei shared the sixth place worth $66,200 and Atwal was joint-15th to pick up $34,500. Even the 67th placed Rahul Ganapathy, the lowest finisher among the 14 Indians, took home $5,250. For the record, World No. 4 Ernie Els pieced together a cautious 71 to join Ghei and three others at the sixth spot.

The only player to return sub-par cards on all four days, Chowrasia saved the best for the final day. Unlike on Saturday, wind was not a factor. Overnight in the tied fifth spot, a tense Chowrasia reached the DGC two and a half hours before the round and worked on his putting for two hours.

This is how Chowarsia made it. He birdied the first hole from one foot and moved to the joint second spot. On the second hole, Chowrasia ‘duffed’ his chip but still saved par. On the third, he chipped in from under-40 feet to tie McGrane and overnight leader Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin at six-under. But it was the seven-foot birdie on the fourth hole that made Chowrasia the sole leader at 8-under.

Thereafter, Chowrasia never trailed. He doubled his lead to two strokes on the seventh hole with a 30-foot birdie and pared the next two holes but realised that the lead was reduced to one stroke with McGrane picking up a stroke on the par-5 eighth hole.

The inward journey was a tense one for Chowrasia and those who followed his fortunes. Chowrasia narrowly missed a birdie on the 10th hole but made up with a chip-putt from 15 feet on the 11th hole. The last seven holes saw Chowrasia concentrating hard to save par. He did so superbly, needing two putts from six feet to 30 feet, and emerged a worthy winner.

The scores: Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (70, 71, 71, 67) 279; Damien McGrane (Ire) (67, 69, 75, 70) 281; Jose Manuel Lara (Esp) (68, 72, 71, 72) 283; Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) (69, 69, 72, 74), Digvijay Singh (70, 70, 74, 70) 284; Maarten Lafeber (Ned) (69, 71, 73, 72), Ross McGowan (Eng) (72, 71, 70, 72), Thomas Bjorn (Den) (68, 72, 74, 71), Gaurav Ghei (75, 69, 70, 71) and Ernie Els (RSA) (75, 70, 69, 71) 285.

Other Indians (with placings): Tied 15th Arjun Atwal (70, 70, 72, 76) 288; Tied 22nd Jyoti Randhawa (65, 77, 75, 73) 290; Tied 35th Amandeep Johl (73, 71, 76, 73) 293; Tied 38th Randhir Singh Ghotra (74, 73, 70, 77) and Shiv Kapur (68, 78, 76, 72) 294; Tied 44th C. Muniyappa (69, 77, 77, 72) 295; Tied 48th Shamim Khan (73, 74, 76, 73) 296; Tied 55th Ashok Kumar (72, 73, 75, 77) 297; 61st Ali Sher (77, 70, 78, 75) 300; Tied 64th Harmeet Kahlon (70, 75, 83, 75) 303 and 67th Rahul Ganapathy (76, 71, 78, 84) 309.

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