Digvijay outguns all for title

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, APRIL 1. It was the day of the rookie pro. Digvijay Singh who trailed the overnight leader by six shots this morning, produced a quality final round of three under-67 to steal the Rs 5.5 lakh BPGC Open golf championships from the grasp of seasoned professionals and sentimental favourites alike.

With a tournament total of one under 279, 28-year-old from Meerut won his maiden professional title by one stroke over fellow rookie Harmeet Kahlon, and Calcuttan Rafiq Ali both of whom carded a level par 280 for the tournament.

Playing four groups ahead of the leaders, Digvijay overcame a patchy front nine with a brilliant run over the last nine holes of the tournament. He had started the day with a birdie and had two more in the next eight holes but compounded them with two bogeys. Returning to the clubhouse, he took control of the tournament and indeed his own destiny knocking off three birdies in the last four holes. The bogey on the 17th meant he had to wait for the leader group to finish before knowing where he stood in the final reckoning.

Calcuttan Rafiq Ali had a chance to force a playoff. On the 18th tee he was level par for the tournament, with an eagle for outright victory and a birdie for the playoff with Digvijay.

He reached the green with two hefty shots but was left with a 45- foot putt for the eagle and title victory. His putt, going from left to right, fell within 18 inches of the cup and his nerves couldn't quite hold out after that. He missed the birdie putt and Digvijay's cup of joy bubbled over. ``I can't believe it. It's going to take a while to sink in. I'd dreamt of winning a title in my rookie year but achieving it today is unexpected,'' he said. Digvijay believed a strong finish in the $200,000 Thai Masters last week, where he was tied eighth, helped boost his confidence for this event. He put down his victory today to the faith several parties have retained in him - his parents, coach Ken Llewellyn and sponsors the A V Thomas.

Rafiq Ali was dejected at having missed out on the Rs 89,100 top prize by so little. But he believed that failure to seize the day had to do with much that had happened before the final hole.

``I had many opportunities today and I just didn't take them. It is no use crying over a missed putt on the 18th when I could have won by just playing a little more steady.''

Rafiq, started by barely making par on the first hole and sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the second before missing a two-foot putt for one under on the fourth hole. In hindsight, a double bogey on the 15th proved very expensive indeed.

In the glow of the rookie pro's victory today, the performances of the overnight leaders faded a little for which they would be grateful. Vijay Kumar's challenge from the top of the leaderboard wilted in the heat, as the Lucknow pro shot a seven over 77 to finish tied for sixth place at three over 283, along with arch rival Mukesh Kumar, Amritinder Singh and Basad Ali.

Chandigarh rookie Harmeet Kahlon finished as runners- up for the third time this season, this after shooting a hole in one on the par-3 eighth to go to three under for the tournament. But a double bogey on the 13th and his failure to exploit the par-5s on the back nine cost him dearly.

Among the amateurs Sheerav Kalra of Lucknow won the title with a final round of five-over. He finished the tournament with 14-over 294, a stroke better than Pune's Jaideep Patwardhan, who had started the day tied with Kalra.

The results (after 72 holes): Digvijay Singh 279 (70+70+72+67); Harmeet Kahlon 280 (68+71+72+69), Rafiq Ali 280 (73+70+65+72); Shiv Shankar 281 Prasad Chowrasia (67+74+69+71); Shiv Prakash 282 (70+70+72+70);

Basad Ali 283 (70+71+71+71), Mukesh Kumar 283 (73+69+69+72), Amritinder Singh 283 (69+72+68+74), Vijay Kumar 283 (74+68+64+77);

Ali Sher 284 (70+73+73+68), Chini Ali 284 (69+70+72), Rohtas Singh 284 (71+74+68+71), Feroz Ali 284 (73+73+68+70), Jagdish Angre 284 (68+71+73+72); Devendra Patel 285 (67+69+74+75).

Amateurs: Sheeraz Kalra 294 (79+67+73+75); Jaideep Patwardhan 295 (75+76+68+76).

Digvijay Singh, the winner of the the BPGC Open golf championship on Saturday, proudly holds aloft the trophy.

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