Hiccup before the hurrah

There must never be a boring moment with Liang Wen-chong. His one-man show at the Indian Open began with a head-turning composition on the first day...

There must never be a boring moment with Liang Wen-chong. His one-man show at the Indian Open began with a head-turning composition on the first day, and culminated on Sunday in an impromptu drama that had heads shaking till much later.

His most likely competitor losing the thread of his game early and other challengers too far back to be realistic threats, the tournament was so obviously over by the 13th hole that Liang8217;s cheercards-carrying countrymen were busier posing for photographs than paying attention to the play.

Someone who had not gone behind in almost four days was certainly not going to do so with a four-shot advantage and just five holes to play.

First bogey

That8217;s when the Chinese pro decided to turn up the fun. Liang, 17-under for the tournament, and till now flawless in his sand-saves, took two shots to get out of the bunker greenside of the par-five 14th hole, and then two putted for his first bogey of the day.

There was more to come. On the 15th, he sent his perfectly centred ball on the fairway sailing over the green into the bush. Chased by scrambling photographers and several spying spectators, Liang searched in vain and was forced to use his provisional shot and drop two in the bargain.

Two groups ahead, Australian tour journeyman and Asian Tour rookie Darren Beck was playing the round of his life. After four birdies in the first ten holes, Beck had crossed exactly that two-hole stretch in a zone of sublime hitting, giving him two easy putts for two straight birdies. Having started the day at eight-under and not on anyone8217;s agenda as a potential threat, the Aussie was suddenly 14-under and tied for the lead.

The breathless silence that greeted Liang at the 17th tee box was broken momentarily by a burst of faraway screams and a quick shuffle on the leaderboard 8212; Beck had just birdied the 18th to go 15-under. It was broken again as Liang struck his iron on the par-three 17th to barely three feet from the pin, and, once more, broken for good when he sank it for the birdie.

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And though Beck was forced out on the practice green by his caddy, the anticipation of the play-off never struck Liang. He attacked the pin with just second on the par-five 18th, and when that fell in the rough, on the edge of the bunker, chipped out to four feet for birdie.

Two big gulps of cold water as playing partners Adam Blyth and Unho Park finished their respective forgettable days, and a moment later, the calm drop sparked wild celebrations from his caddy. 8220;I8217;m delighted with this win. It8217;s my first triumph from start to finish and I8217;m really happy,8221; Liang said.

Blyth, one shot back at the start, had matched Liang8217;s birdie-start to the round but found big trouble in small putts all day and never challenged.

Two bogeys 8212; the 10th and the 14th 8212; were threatening to drop him further down, but a last-hole birdie gave him a level par round and the third spot.

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Jeev Milkha Singh, struggling with a sore neck, still shot three-under to be tied fourth, his best ever finish at the Indian Open. Ashok Kumar and Mukesh Kumar shared the sixth spot.

Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa ended in tied 57th spot after a two-over round that gave him an aggregate of two-over 290. Daniel Chopra had a horrendous day, shooting seven-over 79 to drop to tied 49th spot.