Mundy upstages Mukesh
to take lead
Mukesh Kumar had one of the worst rounds of the season as he lost the pole position to Uttam Singh Mundy after the third round in the Rs 950,000 Surya Nepal Masters, at the par-72
Gokarna Forest Golf Resort course, on Friday.
The Mhow-based golfer, winner of six of his last seven appearances on the
Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour this season, made five bogeys and a double bogey
in a round of five-over 77 to drop down to tied fourth place at six-under
210.
Mundy battled hard in the closing stages of the round and produced some
magical recovery shots en route to a three-under 69, which propelled him to
the top of the leaderboard at 12-under 204. His Kolkata mate,
defending champion Feroz Ali moved up to second place at 10-under 206 with a
round of four-under 68, while Amritinder Singh took the third place at 209
following a round of two-under 70.
Deepak Acharya continued to be the best-placed Nepali pro. The Gokarna
Forest Golf Resort teaching pro shot a two-over 74 to be tied for 10th place
at one-over 215. Sabin Sapkota was in 17th place at 223, while Toran Shahi
and Ramesh Nagarkoti were in joint 18th place one stroke behind. Tashi Ghale
shot an 81, but continued to be the amateur leader at 227. Mani Rai was
second at 233.
Mundy, who won the Surya Nepal Masters in 1997, was in stunning putting form
as he dropped 20-footer putts for successive birdies on the first and second
holes. He then repeated the act on the 18th hole, and provided enough drama
in between to thrill his followers. On the fourth, he looked set for birdie
but left his chip short and three-putted. He made a birdie on the sixth and
followed it up with a double bogey on the eighth hole when his tee shot
pitched on the green and trickled into the bunker. On the back nine, he
birdied the 11th and 12th, and then saved miraculous pars on the 15th and
17th from the hazard.
"I would call it playing bad golf with good result. However, the two pars I
saved from near-impossible positions on the 15th and 17th gave me more
satisfaction than the birdies. Mukesh had an off day, but I cannot take it
easy on the final day with just a two-stroke lead over a player of Feroz's
caliber. I will have to play good golf to win," said the Indian
Airlines-sponsored player when asked about the round and his chances of
winning the title.
Feroz started with a bogey but picked up momentum with birdies on the sixth,
eighth and ninth holes. On the back nine, the No 3 player on the Order of
Merit made birdies on the 12th and 13th holes to finish the day at
four-under 68.
Mukesh made two uncharacteristic three-putts in his round of 77. Young Ashok
Kumar of Delhi played a bogey-free round of five-under 67 to take the tied
fourth place along with Mukesh and Rafiq Ali. Digvijay Singh made his second
successive 68 to be in joint seventh place along with Pappan.
Scores (after 54 holes): 204 _ Uttam Singh Mundy (68,67,69); 206 _ Feroz Ali
(69,69,68); 209 _ Amritinder Singh (71,68,70); 210 _ Ashok Kumar (75,67,67),
Rafiq Ali (69,69,72), Mukesh Kumar (67,66,77); 211 _ Digvijay Singh
(74,67,68), Pappan (71,70,70); 214 _ Rahul Ganapathy (74,68,72); 217 _
Deepak Acharya (71,72,74), Ajay Gupta (70,73,74); 219 _ Sanjay Kumar
(74,71,74), Vishal Singh (71,72,76); 221 _ Yusuf Ali (75,73,73), Shamim Khan
(72,71,78), Zai Kipgen (71,70,80).
Amateurs: 227 _ Tashi Ghale (75,71,81);
233 _ Mani Rai (75,80,78); 235 _ CB Bhandari (75,74,86)
Yesterday's report
Mukesh Kumar extends lead
Mukesh Kumar makes another good start
