Vijay Kumar wins Bhatiary Open

Vijay Kumar put himself back in contention for the Order of Merit title on the Wills Sport Golf Tour for the fourth consecutive year when he won the inaugural Rs One million Bhatiary Open 2001, the first-ever professional golf tournament in Bangladesh.

At the Bhatiary Golf and Country Club on Friday, the Lion of Lucknow kept a cool head throughout the 18 holes to post a level-par 72 round, enough to give him a two-stroke victory over Mukesh Kumar at even-par 288. Mukesh aggregated two-over 290.

Chand Mia, the number one golfer in Bangladesh, made it a proud moment for his country as he finished tied for the third place along with Digvijay Singh at five-over 293.

For his efforts, Vijay took home Rs 162,000, while Mukesh had to be satisfied with Rs 112,000. Chand Mia and Digvijay received Rs 57,000 each.

With his vast experience of winning in almost every possible situation, there is no player like Vijay Kumar on the Wills Sport Golf Tour when it comes to the crunch situation. Being in contention on a regular basis improves a player's confidence and he automatically handles a pressure situation better than a rookie.

Vijay would have been surprised on Thursday when he found himself at the top of the leader board. But on Friday, he was not going to leave the door open and started dictating terms from the very beginning. Birdying the par-5 first and 4th, he ended his front nine with a bogey to be one-under at the turn. At this stage, he enjoyed a three-stroke advantage and an eagle on the 12th, firmly shut the door on his pursuers. In fact, he could even afford the luxury of bogies on the 17th and 18th holes to still win the title by two strokes.

"It's been a long time since I won last and I let go many opportunities after that. So, I had decided I was not letting this one go. Anyway, the Bhatiary Open is a historic tournament and it feels good to be the first pro winner on Bangladesh soil," said Vijay, whose last victory came at the season-opening Hindu Open.

The first three rounds showed that the Bhatiary course is indeed a challenging layout and with the best score being a 69 (by Vijay in third round), it would have taken an extremely good start by the rest of the field to catch up with the overnight leader. With the conditions extremely windy, Vijay's start and his solid display left no chance for others.

Vijay eulogised the course after his win. "After three rounds of competitive play and four rounds of practise, it is for the first time on the Wills Sport Golf Tour that I really felt that the course was the winner. I will remember this course for a long, long time."

Mukesh Kumar never really threatened Vijay's supremacy other than when he enjoyed a run of three back-to-back birdies at the start of the back nine. However, the damage had been done with his outward half in which he made a very ordinary two-over. Mukesh closed with a 71, but it was only good enough to give him the bridesmaid tag.

Chand Mia gladdened the hearts of the huge gallery with another consistent round of 73. Digvijay Singh had a real up and down day to close with a 75.

The defending BPGC Open champion would have been happy with the final result as he had a nightmarish front nine and was 4-over, till he regrouped and ended with a flurry of pars.

While Digvijay had starting trouble Rohtas certainly had no finishing problems as five consecutive 3's saw him close with an even par 72 which propelled him to a tie for fifth place with Rafiq who had two costly bogies in the last three holes.

SCORES (after 72 holes): 288 _ Vijay Kumar (73,74,69,72); 290 _ Mukesh Kumar (74,69,76,71); 292 _ Chand Mia (71,73,75,73), Digvijay Singh (71,73,73,75); 293 _ Rohtas Singh (72,73,76,72), Rafiq Ali (72,72,74,75); 296 _ Shiv Prakash (74,74,78,70), Yusuf Ali (74,72,75,75); 297 _ Feroz Ali (74,77,72,74); 298 _ Akbar Ali (75,76,78,69), Amit Dube (78,72,74,74), Mohammed Norul Islam Gani (72,72,76,78); Amateurs: 313 _ Mohammed Milon (76,76,81,80); 314 _ Siddiqur Rahman (79,78,80,77)