The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Ashok Kumar strikes it rich

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Sport - Golf

Ashok Kumar strikes it rich

Special Correspondent

PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

CHAMPION: Ashok Kumar poses with the trophy after winning the DLF Masters on Sunday

GURGAON: Ashok Kumar claimed the biggest cheque of his eight-year professional career after incessant rain brought a premature end to the Rs. 95-lakh DLF Masters golf championship here on Sunday.

Leading defending champion Gaganjeet Bhullar by eight strokes after three rounds, Ashok waited patiently for well over two hours to tee-off at the DLF Golf and Country Club before the organisers decided to call off play.

Only the top four players, in two groups, were waiting to tee-off when heavy rains ensured there was no further play. The decision to call off play reduced the competition to 54 holes and left Ashok a worthy winner. This was the first title of the season for 28-year-old from Delhi, seventh on the PGTI Tour and overall 20th career-title.

Simple strategy planned

In any case, Ashok's back-to-back rounds of 65 had taken away much from the title-race on Sunday. “My strategy for today was different than what it was on the second and third rounds. I wanted to reach the greens in regulation and settle for pars without trying too hard for birdies. I did not want to take any undue risks. I knew I had done well enough to win the title, so wanted to keep it simple on the final day,” said Ashok, once it was announced that he was indeed the claimant of Rs. 15,35,675 winner's cheque. The prize-money helped Kesaya-sponsored Ashok reach the top of the Rolex rankings ahead of Mukesh Kumar.

Ashok's earnings this season now stands at Rs. 24,15,392. Mukesh, winner of three titles this season, collected Rs. 1,52,457 on Sunday to take his winnings to Rs. 22,59,250.

Ashok, who missed four months of action this season after hurting his hand on the final day of Aamby Valley event in May, plans to play in Bangalore and Mumbai in the coming weeks to consolidate his position at the top. The top-four ranked professionals on the PGTI Tour get to play in the Singapore Open later this year.

“After I returned to competitive golf at Chandigarh, I was struggling to get back to my best. On the second morning here, I decided to alter the club-fittings and PING did a fantastic job. The results are there for all of you to see. I hit birdies regularly in both rounds thereafter. My confidence is now as much as it was during my peak, about four years ago.

“If I hit the ball so well off the tee, I owe a lot to Vinod Kumar (who is currently sixth in the domestic rankings) for letting me use his driver.

“I've sorted out the technical hitches I was having with my clubs. Now I am keen to make up for the lost time,” said Ashok who has played only eight events, one less than Mukesh, this season.

Like the leader-group, last year's runner-up Anirban Lahiri and the reigning Indian Open champion C. Muniyappa, too, could not tee-off on the final day.

Lahiri finished third to take home Rs. 5,95,175 while Muniyappa shared the fourth spot with Ajeetesh Sandhu and collected Rs. 4,33,675.

Top 10 standing (with scores after 54 holes): 1. Ashok Kumar (70, 65, 65) 200; 2. Gaganjeet Bhullar (68, 67, 73) 208; 3. Anirban Lahiri (70, 69, 70) 209; 4-5. C. Muniyappa (74, 69, 67) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (73, 67, 70) 210; 6-10. Anura Rohana (Sri) (73, 70, 68), Amardip Sinh Malik (73, 68, 70), Gaurav Pratap Singh (70, 69, 72), Jyoti Randhawa (67, 71, 73), and Himmat Singh Rai (68, 69, 74) 211.

Order of Merit rankings: 1. Ashok Kumar (Rs. 24,15,392), 2. Mukesh Kumar (Rs. 22,59,250) 3. Shamim Khan (Rs. 20,96,075), Anirban Lahiri (Rs. 19,17,108), 5. Gaganjeet Bhullar (Rs. 18,41,825), 6. Vinod Kumar (Rs. 12,46,104), 7. Sujjan Singh (Rs. 12,22,700), 8. Manav Jaini (Rs. 11,16,700), 9. Anura Rohana (Sri) (Rs. 10,49,142), 10. Himmat Singh Rai (Rs. 10,27,425) .

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