A memorable season for Indian pros

Jyoti Randhawa’s top spot in the Davidoff Order of Merit was a glorious last chapter on the momentus magnum opus writen by Indians on t...

Jyoti Randhawa’s top spot in the Davidoff Order of Merit was a glorious last chapter on the momentus magnum opus writen by Indians on the greens.

The dream season started with Arjun Atwal becoming the first Indian to win a European tour event, it was followed by Shiv Kapur’s gold at Busan Asian Games and Randhawa’s sixth place finish in a field which had world golf’s leading lights at the Dunhill Championship in Scotland.

Jeev stays in race for US PGA

New Delhi: Jeev Milkha Singh is within one step of making history with just one round to go in the gruelling six-round US PGA Tour Qualifying School at La Quinta in California. The 30-year-old, who was the first Indian to qualify for the European PGA Tour, could add another first, if finishes among top 35 and ties at the end of the six rounds.

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Jeev, who is sponsored by Hero Honda, fired a two-under 70 in the fifth round to aggregate eight-under 352. He was tied for the 31st place in a competition led by Jeff Brehaut and Brian Bateman. Jeev earlier had rounds of 69, 69, 72 and 72 on the first four days.

In his fifth round, Jeev started from the 10th and had birdies on the 11th, 16th and 17th but also bogeyed the 14th to be two-under at the turn. On the back nine, he once again had three birdies on the first, fourth and seventh. But he also dropped strokes on the second, fifth and sixth. On each of the five days, Jeev has found his birdies, five each in the first, second and fourth rounds and six in the fifth. He also had three on the third day, when he had a even par card.

Breheaut and Bateman shared the lead at 17-under-par 343 with just one round to go. Brehaut fired the best round of the tournament with a bogey-free, nine-under-par 63 at the PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course, which along with the Tournament Players Club Stadium Course is hosting the six-round tournament.

With earnings of $266,263 after the season ending Volvo Masters of Asia, Randhawa was awarded the Players’ Player of the Year award, for his great show despite suffering a shoulder injury earlier this year. Spending hours on the greens with a club in one hand and plaster in another, Jyoti was a man on mission this season.

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Not just that, on his return to the tour Jyoti had to take painkilling tablets to keep him going. And quite expectedly the darling of Indian golf was elated by against-odds achievement.

‘‘I am really happy. This is something I have often dreamt about. It’s a stepping stone that will allow me to climb higher,’’ said Jyoti, who has earned full playing rights on the Japan Golf Tour. This achievement also gives him an exemption to play the Open Championship, which will be played at Royal St. Georges next year, as well as the American Express Championship.

In some ways it was not surprising to see an Indian heading the Order of Merit as Atwal had occupied the number one spot for most part of the year after winning the Caltex Singapore Masters early in the season.

But finally what mattered was the peformance in the last four big money events. It was almost like musical chair for the hot seat. First Thongchai Jaidee displaced Arjun but the Thai lost the top spot to Jyoti after he carded a second place at the BMW Asian Open.

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The top five rankings this year, saw two Indians dominate the tour as Atwal eventually went on to finish third with earnings of US$207,624 and thus recording his third top five finish on this tour.

Meanwhile, Arjun Singh, who came close to winning his first Asian tour title, having led the Volvo Masters of Asia after nine holes on the final day.

Eventually he finished second to comfortably keep his card as he finished at the 14th spot on the final 2002 Order of Merit. Harmeet Kahlon, Vijay Kumar, Daniel Chopra and Amandeep Johl were the other four players who kept their cards, thereby earning playing privileges for each event held on the tour next year.