FEBRUARY 19: Gaurav Ghei sank in the birdie putt when it mattered most - on the final hole - to edge out Vijay Kumar and win the Wills Masters title and take home the winner's cheque of Rs 3,24,000. Gaurav carded a two-over 74, the same as Vijay Kumar, but finished one stroke better on aggregate.The final hole provided a tense drama. Despite a none-too-good stance, Vijay was within 12-feet of the pin with his second shot. Gaurav's second shot left him 10 feet over the pin. While Vijay misread the line and missed the hole by a foot, while Gaurav drained his putt for the winning birdie.Overjoyed at the outcome, he admitted that there were times during the round when he thought that he would have more than just Vijay to contend with as Feroz Ali and Amritinder Singh played consistently.Tiger's dress code of a red T-shirt and black trousers failed to provide the magic for Vijay Kumar. His birdie on the second hole, a par three where he chipped in to go one under, was only a threat that failed to materialise during the course of the day.Gaurav teed off with a one stroke advantage, but the final outcome was not clear till the very last hole. Tied with Gaurav after the second hole, Vijay gave up the advantage on the next, a 436-yard par four he bogeyed. Both parred till the seventh, and then Gaurav increased his lead on the eighth where he hit his second to a foot and birdied while Vijay missed a short putt for par and dropped another shot. However, then it was Gaurav's turn to drop a shot, bogeying the ninth, narrowing his lead to one.Missing a short putt for birdie on the tenth, he gave up the advantage to Vijay as he could only come up with a bogey on the 11th to match Vijay's birdie.Things got tense as Gaurav pulled his shot of the tee on the 13th and missed a chip and putt for par. However, Vijay bogeyed the 14th and the 15th making it even. Things turned in favour of the India Cements sponsored Gaurav Ghei on the 15th where he holed out from the bunker for an eagle and a one shot lead for the tournament. He then went on to bogey 16 and 17, hence approaching the 18th tied with Vijay who was also lying on the green for a birdie. Gaurav went for the putt and holed it even though he later remarked, ``I hit it too hard but the hole came in the way.''Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar who tied for second place after holing a 20-foot putt for birdie on the second had a disastrous back nine. With an easy birdie on the 18th, he finished tied with Feroz Ali for third place. Local hero, Feroz brought in the best round of the day, a two-under-par 70. With birdies on the second and fifth, he had a bogey free round that moved him to third place.Chandigarh's Amritinder Singh played consistently, carding a level par round for the day. Starting with a birdie, he made another on the fifth but dropped shots on the fourth and eighth to turn at par. The back nine was a similar story with bogeys making up for birdies and he occupied sole fifth place.Meanwhile, amateur golfer Sanjeev Mehra played consistently to win the amateur title. Though a little ruffled after making bogeys on the last two holes, he won by a twenty-one shot margin from his nearest rival Pritam Saikia and carded a three over par 75, for the day.Scores: 289: Gaurav Ghei (74, 68, 73, 74); 290: Vijay Kumar (73, 71, 72, 74); 291: Mukesh Kumar (74, 73, 70, 74); Feroz Ali (67, 76, 78, 70); 293: Amritinder Singh (72, 72, 77, 72); 295: Ali Sher (72, 73, 74, 76); 296: Harmeet Kahlon (76, 77, 69, 74); Basad Ali (75, 76, 74, 71); 298: KPS Sekhon (74, 73, 71, 80); Shiv Prakash (74, 74, 75, 75); Akbar Ali (71, 77, 79, 71)Amateurs: 297: Sanjeev Mehra (72, 76, 74, 75); 318: Pritam Saikia (74, 83, 76, 85); 319: Atul Almal (78, 77, 79, 85).
