Bhandari, Randhawa set up title clash

The Hero Honda Open, the first major tournament of the Hero Honda Golf Tour’s 2001-2002 season, is poised for an exciting final day clash between Asian PGA Tour giants Vivek Bhandari and Jyoti Randhawa.

Bhandari continued in the lead for the second day running with a tally of nine-under 207 while Randhawa lurked at striking distance two strokes behind the leader at a tally of seven-under 209 after the penultimate round of the Rs One million tournament, being played at the par-72, 7,078-yard KGA course.

Calcutta’s Yusuf Ali, winner of the season starting The Hindu Open, witnessed a welcome return to form with his day’s score of six-under 66, also the day’s best card, boosting him to third place at five-under 211. Another Calcuttan SSP Chowrasia made his presence felt at fourth spot at 212, while the duo of opening round leader Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh and Lucknow’s Vijay Kumar were placed tied-fifth at 213.

Feroz Ali (Calcutta) was seventh at 214. Amandeep Johl of Chandigarh, witnessed the form which saw him equal the course record of seven-under 65 on Thursday desert him completely. Johl, 76 on Friday, was placed tied-eighth at 216 with Mukesh Kumar (Mhow), Digvijay Singh (Meerut), Shiv Prakash (Kanpur), Uttam Mundy (Kolkata) and Prakash Kubde (Bombay).

Vivek Bhandari might not have had as good a round as his second round 66, but his penultimate day’s score of two-under 70 was good enough to hand him a two stroke lead going into the final day’s play.

"I had a very bad front-nine. In fact I was two-over after seven holes," said Bhandari, referring to his dropped shots on the 4th and 7th. Finishing his outward journey with a birdie, Bhandari, carried on from there to card birdies on the 11th, 13th and 18th.

"My putting was patchy today. I had 19 putts on my front-nine and 14 on the back-nine," said the golfer whose return journey round included 20 and 40 feet putts for birdies on the 13th and 18th. "I think I got a little excited earlier on but then settled down on the back-nine" he added.

"I owe a lot to my sponsors Bharat Petroleum. It is their support through the trying times I went through last year, that kept me going and gave me the confidence to come back with a bang," said the 30-year old referring to his missing most of last season due to a spondylitis problem. "With the course playing beautifully, tomorrow’s final round will be an exciting affair," he added.

"I have rediscovered my form," was what Jyoti Randhawa had to say. The two time Hero Honda Masters champion, much like Bhandari did, returned two bogeys today, both on the front-nine. His dropped shots coming on the 4th and 6th, were more than overshadowed by birdies on the 2nd, 7th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th.

"It really hurts to think that I missed one-foot par putts on my bogey holes. I would have been in the joint-lead but for this," said Randhawa, after returning a four-under 68 today. "I was a little too anxious to do well yesterday but now I am back to my calm self. Having won here the last time I played as well as having set the course record (seven-under 65) here four years ago, I am certain this is my lucky course," he added.

Yusuf Ali is a changed man this season. Yusuf is slowly establishing a reputation as a dangerous opponent on the Hero Honda Golf Tour. Today, the stocky Kolkatan returned an error free card with a birdie start and finish to his round interspersed by four other birdies on the 10th, 13th, 14th and 16th.

"The best shot of my day was the 40 feet downhill putt I made on the 18th," said Yusuf. "I am a very confident golfer after my win at The Hindu Open and am certainly not intimidated by the thought of playing with Jyoti and Bhandari. After all, I led the Indian Open after the second day in 1999. I am a lot more experienced now and am positive I can convert a win," he concluded.

SSP Chowrasia has played with the big boys before. Today playing with Randhawa and Bhandari, Chowrasia came back with an uncomplicated card including just one birdie on the 5th, amid a sea of pared holes.

"I am happy with the way I played, especially with my putting," said Chowrasia. It will be hard to catch the leader but that does not mean I will not try tomorrow," he signed off with his day’s card reading one-under 71.

Kanitkar leads amateur field: Aditya Kanitkar assumed a one-stroke lead over overnight leader Joseph Chakola. Kanitkar led the field at 16-over 232, while 16-year old Chakola tallied 233.

SCORES (after 54 holes): 207_Vivek Bhandari(71,66,70); 209_ Jyoti Randhawa(69,72,68), 211_Yusuf Ali(71,74,66); 212_Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia(70,71,71); 213_Ranjit Singh(67,74,72), Vijay Kumar(72,71,70); 214_Feroz Ali(75,69,70); 216_Prakash Kubde(70,71,75), Amandeep Johl(75,65,76), Shiv Prakash(71,74,71), Digvijay Singh(73,73,70), Mukesh Kumar(71,73,72), Uttam Singh Mundy(73,73,70); 217_Rahul Ganapathy(70,71,76), Indrajit Bhalotia(72,72,73), Shamim Khan(70,72, 75) Amateurs: 232_Aditya Kanitkar(79,79,74); 233_Joseph Chakola(80,72,81)