Arjun Atwal crashes out

The vagaries of the matchplay format hit the Rs One million SRF All-India Matchplay championship in the very first match of the first round when top-seed Arjun Atwal was shown the exit door by unheralded Suleman Ali at the Delhi Golf Club, on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old from Delhi spoiled Atwal's marriage anniversary celebrations by winning 3&2 in the only matchplay tournament on the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour.

Also losing in the first round were eighth seed and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Gaurav Ghei and the 16th seed Rahil Gangjee, considered a matchplay expert by his peers.

Ghei lost to Mohammed Maqbool on the 20th hole, while Gangjee's citymate from Kolkata, Binod Pandey, walloped him 5&3.

While the top half lost three seeds, all eight from the bottom half survived the first day. Second seed Mukesh Kumar blew away Sheeraz Kalra 4&3, while No 3 Feroz won 3&2 against Asgar Ali. Sixth seed Uttam Singh Mundy survived a scare from Ashok Kumar before winning on the 19th hole. No 4 Lucknow's Vijay Kumar, recently crowned Indian Open champion, had a relatively tough time against KPS Sekhon of Chandigarh winning 2&1. Fifth seed Arjun Singh won 4&3 against Shamim Khan.

"This is the finest moment of my career," said a beaming 22-year-old Suleman after his victory. "To beat a player like Atwal is like dream coming true. To be very frank, I was just too happy to be playing against him. It wouldn't have mattered if I had lost. There was no pressure on me and I played my normal game," he added.

Suleman started with an eagle when he dropped a 20-footer putt. That almost set the tome for the rest of the day as the Delhi player kept sinking huge putts. He won the fourth, 13th and 14th holes with birdies and the 11th with a par. Atwal pulled back in the middle by winning the sixth and seventh holes, but could not capitalise on it.

"I am disappointed, but to be brutally honest, I did not deserve to win. I played my first full round after Qatar Masters yesterday in the pro-am. This is not to take anything away from Suleman, who played solid golf throughout," said Atwal after the round.

Ghei won the last three holes against Maqbool to force a playoff, but lost on the 20th when he missed his up-and-down from the bunker on the second hole. "I was very nervous to begin with, but then told myself that if I had to lose, I better lose playing well," said Maqbool who burnt his fingers in the morning before the match when his match box caught fire while lighting a matchstick.

Uttam Mundy made up for a three-hole deficit on the last four holes and then parred the first playoff hole to beat Ashok Kumar who three-putted for a bogey from eight feet on the 19th hole. "Ashok played very well and it was only my experience that helped me win today," said Mundy.

KEY RESULTS (Seedings in prefix): Suleman Ali bt 1-Arjun Atwal 3&2; 2-Mukesh Kumar bt Sheeraz Kalra 4&3; 3-Feroz Ali bt Asgar Ali 3&2; 4-Vijay Kumar bt KPS Sekhon 2&1; 5-Arjun Singh bt Shamim Khan 4&3; 6-Uttam Singh Mundy bt Ashok Kumar 19th hole; 7-Shiv Prakash bt C Muniyappa 4&3; Mohd Maqbool bt 8-Gaurav Ghei on 20th hole; Binod Pandey bt 16-Rahil Gangjee 5&3; Amandeep Johl bt Amritinder Singh 3&2

FEATURE SECOND ROUND MATCHES: 2-Mukesh Kumar vs Amandeep Johl (10:41); 5-Arjun Singh vs Indrajit Bhalotia (09:02); 13-Digvijay Singh vs Ali Sher (09:18); 15-Zai Kipgen vs Rahul Ganapathy (10:33)