Jeev runner-up in Taiwan

Star Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh braved strong and gusty winds to fire the best round of a high scoring final day. His effort helped him to leapfrog from an overnight tied-seventh position to a sole second place finish at the US$300,000 Acer Taiwan Open, which concluded at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club.

Jeev's final round two-under 70 handed him a tournament tally of four-over 292 and a prize purse of US$33,090.

Australian Jason Dawes, the only pro to break par on a tournament aggregate, won the Acer Taiwan Open by a comfortable eight strokes with a tally of four-under 284. Dawes carded a final round one-over 73. The winner's Acer Taiwan Open triumph was worth US$50,000 and secured his place in the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok next month. It was also the second largest margin of victory on Tour this season.

Meanwhile, there was more to cheer for Indian golf fans, as Cosmo Films-sponsored Vijay Kumar returned a 20th place finish while Chandigarh's Amandeep Johl finished 21st.

Vijay, who tallied 304, earned US $3,600, with Johl pocketing US $3465 for finishing one stroke behind Vijay.

The Hero Honda-sponsored Jeev, who has not made too many starts on the Asian PGA Tour this season due to his Nationwide Tour commitments, started the tournament by assuming the lead with an opening round 65.  A round-two 80 looked like taking the early initiative away but subsequent rounds of 77 and 70 did the trick for him even if they failed to hand him his first title of

the season.

"I am a bit disappointed with my second round showing.  Had I played better then, there was a good chance that I would have won the tournament," said the 31-year old.

"However, on the flip side, I am extremely happy with the way my game is shaping up. This week was a confidence booster," he added.

The 30-year-old Aussie completed the remaining nine holes of his third round this morning with a 73 which gave him a five-shot advantage over the field.

"It's my first win on the Asian PGA Tour. After finishing runner-up in Thailand, I knew I could do it. I'm really glad to be here now and hope this is the first of many more wins," said Dawes.

Final scores: 284 - Jason Dawes (AUS) 68-70-73-73; 292 - Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 65-80-77-70; 295 - Lin Wen-tang (TPE) 69-77-75-74; 296 - Hendrik Buhrmann (RSA) 68-76-80-72; 297 - Simon Yates (SCO) 72-72-72-81; 298 - Kim Felton (AUS) 70-77-78-73, Pat Giles (AUS) 68-74-76-80, Chen Chung-cheng (TPE) 70-70-80-78; 299 - Stephen Lindskog (SWE), 73-76-75-75, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 71-76-79-73, Chang Tse-peng (TPE) 75-72-78-74, Wang Ter-chang (TPE) 70-73-78-78; 300 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 74-73-77-76; 301 - Justin Rose (ENG) 70-79-75-77, David Gleeson (AUS) 72-78-74-77, Scott Taylor (USA) 69-81-75-76, Andrew Pitts (USA) 74-75-74-78; 302 - Dong Yi (KOR) 74-73-80-75; 303 - Adam Le Vesconte (AUS) 75-78-75-75; 304 - Vijay Kumar (IND) 71-81-78-74; 305 - Amandeep Johl (IND) 69-81-77-78, Chen Jung-hsin (TPE) 72-78-79-76