Mukesh Kumar wins
Hyundai Open golf
Rookie Ashok Kumar's superb back-nine assault could not
prevent Mukesh Kumar from annexing his second straight title on the Hero
Honda Golf Tour.
Mukesh returned a two-under 68 in the final round of the
sixth leg of the 2002-03 Hero Honda Golf Tour to win the Hyundai Open with a tournament
aggregate of 13-under 267, thereby boosting his bank balance to the tune of
Rs 97,200.
The prodigiously talented Ashok Kumar fired six birdies in his back nine but
still fell two strokes short of Mukesh's tally. Ashok finished at 11-under
269, while another Delhiite, Rohtas Singh, finished a distant third at
three-under 277.
Kolkata's Feroz Ali was fourth at one-under 279, while
Feroz's brother Rafiq, occupied the joint-fifth position with Bangalore's S
Madaiah and Meerut's Digvijay Singh at one-over 281.
Anybody following the leader-group in the early stages of the day would
have, given the opportunity, unhesitatingly scribbled Mukesh Kumar's name on
the giant cheque. With Mukesh going into the final round with a five-stroke
cushion and Ashok, his nearest rival increasing that margin to six with a
bogey on his fourth, there was little doubt as to in whose court the ball
lay. Ashok then went on to drop yet anther shot on the sixth but with
Mukesh also bogeying that hole, the situation remained unchanged.
Both the golfers birdied the seventh but Mukesh moved another stroke ahead
with a birdie on his ninth. This is really when the action began. Ashok, known for his attacking brand of golf, caught fire early in his back-nine, to fire four birdies on his first four holes. Mukesh managed a birdie on the 13th, thereby managing to keep four strokes ahead of the
youngster. But Ashok was in no mood to give up. Birdies on the 15th and
16th saw him inch to within two strokes of the leader's tally. However,
with both golfers paring their remaining two holes, Mukesh had the last
laugh.
"I am thrilled to win my second straight title. However, credit should go to
Ashok for the way he played. He really had me worried on the back-nine,"
said Mukesh, who has thrice won the 'Mahindra Champion Golfer of the Year'
award.
For Ashok Kumar this was his best performance since turning professional
this year.
"I am quite happy with my game today. I did want to win
desperately but I think five strokes was a bit hard to overtake under this
conditions," said the jubilant 21-year old, who earend Rs 67,200 for his
effort.
Swan Kwon, deputy managing director of Hyundai Motors India Limited gave
away the prizes.
Yudhvir wins amateur title: C V Yudhvir won the amateur title at eight-over
288. D Nagaraj finished second ten strokes behind at 298.
Scores (after 72 holes): 267_Mukesh Kumar (Mhow) (69, 65, 65, 68); 269_Ashok
Kumar (Del) (69, 65, 70, 65); 277_Rohtas Singh (Del) (68, 66, 73,
70); 279_Feroz Ali (Kolkata (69, 68, 74, 68); 281_Rafiq Ali (Kolkata) (70,
69, 74, 68); Digvijay Singh (Meerut) (71, 73, 66, 71); S Madaiah (Bangalore)
(70, 71, 67, 73); 282_Shiv Prakash (Kanpur) (71, 71, 70, 70); 283_Sheeraz
Kalra (Lucknow) (69, 69, 73, 72); Yusuf Ali (Kolkata) (70, 68, 70, 75);
284_Mohd. Silam(67,73,74,70); Mohd. Salim(69,67,77,71); R
Murthy(72,69,69,74); 285_Sanjay Kumar(77,70,69,69); C
Muniyappa(71,71,71,72); Monish Bindra(68,69,75,73).
Amateurs: 288_CV Yudhvir
(73, 70, 72, 73); 298_D Nagaraj (77, 72, 74, 75).
Earlier reports
Mukesh cruises towards title
Three-way tie for lead
