Upsets galore in SRF golf

The spate of upsets continued unabated at the Rs One million SRF Matchplay Golf Championship, being played at the par-72 Delhi Golf Club, when fourth seed Digvijay Singh, seventh seed Amandeep Johl, ninth seed Gaurav Ghei and the tenth seed Uttam Singh Mundy joined the casualty list on Wednesday.

However, top-seed Arjun Atwal, unable to speak and facing the prospect of a minor surgery if the antibiotics don't work on his infected throat, let his clubs do all the talking and beat veteran Basad Ali 4&3. No 5 Vijay Kumar, No 6 Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia and No 8 Arjun Singh survived another day and set up some intriguing pre-quarter final matches. Vijay got the better of his Lucknow citymate Bhoop Singh 5&4, Chowrasia downed a battling Ali
Sher 2&1, while Arjun Singh was stretched to the 18th hole before winning 2-up.

Digvijay lost to a birdie from the local boy Vinod Kumar on the 19th hole, while Johl met a similar fate against Mohd Islam of Patna. Ghei found Jaiveer Virk's putting abilities too hot to handle and lost 4&3, while Mundy was no match against a rampant Pappan, who was six-under after 12 holes in his 8&6 victory over the twice Honda-Siel PGA champion.

Defending champion Shiv Prakash made full use of Amritinder Singh's errant play and won 6&4, while Rahil Gangjee was a big winner, defeating Manohar Dike of Mumbai 7&5. First round heroes, Hem Chand, who knocked off Mukesh Kumar, lost to Devendra Patel 3&1, while Prem, who beat second seed Jeev, lost 4&3 to S Madaiah of Bangalore. Feroz Ali was taken to the 19th hole by Sanjay Kumar, while 11th seed Ashok Kumar was a 3&2 winner against Roop Singh.

Vinod Kumar, who got married two months back, is considered one of the most fearless players on the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour. On Wednesday, he took on Digvijay, who is enjoying superb form this season. After trading lead twice on the front nine, Vinod found himself two down when the Meerut golfer eagled the eighth and won the tenth with a par. He managed to pull it back and took the match into a playoff after winning the 18th with a birdie.

On the first play-off hole, Vinod found the par-5 green in two and made a birdie, while Digvijay found the fairway bunker with his three-wood tee shot and could only make a par.

"I am thrilled on beating Digvijay, who is playing such good golf. I am now looking forward to meeting Yusuf Ali tomorrow and my aim is to try reaching the semi-finals at least," said the affable Vinod.

Pappan was in sparkling form. After halving the first hole with birdies against Mundy, the DGC player slam dunked his second shot on the par-4 second hole for an eagle after Mundy had hit his second to less than six feet. Thereafter, Pappan made three more birdies, while Mundy lost two holes to par.

"Pappan was playing amazing golf. In an effort to make up, I resorted to my driver, which is a bad idea on the DGC course," said Mundy after the round.

Important results from Wednesday's matches: 1-Arjun Atwal bt 32-Basad Ali 4&3; 29-Vinod Kumar bt 4-Digvijay Singh 19th hole; 5-Vijay Kumar bt 37-Bhoop Singh 5&4; 6-SSP Chowrasia bt 38-Ali Sher 2&1; 26-Mohd Islam bt 7-Amandeep Johl 19th hole; 8-Arjun Singh bt 40-Jumman 2-up; 14-Rafiq Ali bt 19-Vivek Bhandari 6&5; 16-Shiv Prakash bt 17-Amritinder Singh 6&4; 24-Jaiveer Virk bt 9-Gaurav Ghei 4&3; 23-Pappan bt 10-Uttam Singh Mundy 8&6; 18-Rahil Gangjee bt 50-Manohar Dike 7&5; 34-S Madaiah bt 63-Prem 4&3.

Thursday's pre-quarter-final line-up: (Starts 8:00 am): 1-Arjun Atwal vs 16-Shiv Prakash; 5-Vijay Kumar vs 12-Feroz Ali; 6-SSP Chowrasia vs 11-Ashok Kumar; 8-Arjun Singh vs 24-Jaiveer Virk; 13-Yusuf Ali vs 29-Vinod Kumar; 26-Mohd Islam vs 23-Pappan; 14-Rafiq Ali vs 30-Devendra Patel; 18-Rahil Gangjee vs 34-S Madaiah.

Quarter-finals from 1:00 pm.