Arjun Singh pips Vijay Kumar
in a thriller
Arjun Singh put himself in contention for his third title on the Hero Honda Golf Tour this season when he overcame reigning Indian Open champion and the fourth seed Vijay Kumar in a nail-biting quarter-final match of the Rs One million SRF All-India Matchplay Championship,
being played at the Delhi Golf Club, on Thursday.
The fifth-seeded Arjun will now meet Amit Dube of Noida in the semi-final on
Friday.
Dube defeated Suleman Ali, the surprise packet of the tournament, on
the 18th hole.
In the second semi-final, seventh seed Shiv Prakash will
clash with unseeded Dinesh Kumar of Delhi. The Kanpur-based Shiv Prakash got
the better of 15th seed Zai Kipgen, while Dinesh made up for a four-hole
deficit and beat the sixth seed Uttam Singh Mundy on the 19th hole.
After Vijay lost the first two holes with bogies, he made a birdie on the
third and fought tooth and nail. On the 14th, Arjun found the fairway bunker
with his tee shot and was almost ten feet from the pin after his third.
Vijay, on the other hand, was sitting for a 15-feet eagle putt. However, he
could only muster a birdie, while Arjun drained a very important 10-footer
birdie putt to halve the hole.
On the 15th, Vijay hit his second shot to three feet for birdie to go 1-up,
but Arjun clawed back by hitting a similar shot on the 16th. On the 17th,
Vijay birdie putt lipped out from 12 feet, and then he missed a three-footer
to lose the hole and the match on the 18th, while Arjun hit a brilliant
birdie from the bunker.
Dinesh was four down after five holes, but caught fire thereafter. He won
the sixth, seventh, 12th and 13th with birdies and 11th with a par to go
1-up. Mundy finally pulled it back on the final hole. On the first playoff
hole, the 35-year-old Kolkatan uncharacteristically blocked his tee shot
into the right rough to lose the hole and the match.
"I was almost sure of
losing the match, especially after the first five holes. I just thought that
I should play my natural game. That did the trick," said Dinesh.
Amit Dube went 1-up with a par from the bunker on the 15th. Suleman never
let go and had a superb chance to push the match into the 19th hole when he
needed a three-footer birdie putt on the final hole. However, the
22-year-old missed his putt.
"I think we were both tired, but he was tired
and anxious as well. I made lesser mistakes than him. I am now looking
forward to tomorrow's match with Arjun," said Dube who played both the
rounds today with a bad throat and slight fever.
Shiv Prakash and Zai were all square till the 12th hole before Zai lost the
13th and 14th with bogies. A birdie on the 16th gave him the match and a
place in the semis.
In the pre-quarters, Suleman Ali walloped veteran Basad Ali 6&5, while Amit
Dube sent ninth seed Sanjay Kumar 1-up on the final hole. Fourth seed Vijay
Kumar and No 5 Arjun Singh were big winners, beating Digvijay Singh and
Rafiq Ali 6&4 and 5&4 respectively.
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS (Seedings in prefix): 5-Arjun Singh bt 4-Vijay Kumar
1-up; Dinesh Kumar bt 6-Uttam Singh Mundy 19th hole; 7-Shiv Prakash bt
15-Zai Kipgen 3&2; Amit Dube bt Suleman Ali 1-up.
PRE-QUARTER RESULTS: Suleman Ali bt Basad Ali 6&5; 15-Zai Kipgen bt Amandeep Johl 3&2; Dinesh
Kumar bt Dinesh Raghuvanshi 19th hole; 4-Vijay Kumar bt Digvijay Singh 6&4;
5-Arjun Singh bt 12-Rafiq Ali 5&4; 6-Uttam Singh Mundy bt 11-Shiv Shankar
Prasad Chowrasia 3&1; 7-Shiv Prakash bt Mohamed Islam 5&4; Amit Dube bt
9-Sanjay Kumar 1-up
