Ashok Kumar, the hugely talented golfer who is billed as the future of Indian golf, lent credence to his reputation when he jumped to the No 1 spot on the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour Order of Merit for the first time within a short span of 21 months of turning professional.

A tied third place finish at the recently-concluded Hero Honda Open West at the Poona Club Golf Course was enough for the DLF Golf & Country Club pro to displace the mighty Mukesh Kumar from the top of the Money List of the 2003-04 season of the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour.

The 22-year-old also became the first player this season to the Rs 600,000 mark with total earnings of Rs 6,09,610 in 11 starts. The `Rookie of the year' for 2002-03 season, Ashok has had eight top-ten finishes, including a victory at the SERVO Masters at Digboi, this season.

"Now I can rightfully be called the No.1 golfer of the country," said a delighted Ashok. "This has definitely motivated me to give my best at the Asian PGA Qualifying School tournament," added Ashok, who has left for Malaysia to try and earn his Asian PGA Tour card, said Mukesh, who was surprisingly off colour and finished a dismal 24th at Pune, slid to the third position with total earnings of Rs 5,73,990 from 11 outings.

The four-time `Champion Golfer of the Year' has two wins in the current season with nine top-ten finishes.

Kolkata's SSP Chowrasia, who has had a brilliant run in the last four events, winning two of them, held on to his second position with earnings of Rs 5,91,265. He earned his seventh top-ten finish of the year when he was joint-fifth at Pune. Meerut-based pro Digvijay Singh, who briefly topped the Order of Merit after winning the Surya Nepal Masters, was tied with Chowrasia in the fifth place, was fourth in the Money List with earnings of Rs 5,54,823.

Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar, who registered his first victory of the season at the Hero Honda Open West, made the biggest move, jumping five slots to the fifth place. A Rs 1,62,000 winner's cheque at Pune boosted his earnings from nine outings to Rs 5,21,628.

Delhi's Arjun Singh, who has only played four events on the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour, was in the sixth position while Kolkata golfers Uttam Singh Mundy and Feroz Ali occupied the seventh and eighth position respectively. Feroz's brother Rafiq Ali was in ninth position while Delhi pro Pappan, despite missing the cut at the Hero Honda Open West, was in tenth spot.

THE TOP-15 (after 12 events): Ashok Kumar  Rs 6,09,610;  SSP Chowrasia Rs 5,91,265; Mukesh Kumar Rs 5,73,990; Digvijay Singh Rs 5,54,823; Vijay Kumar Rs 5,21,628; Arjun Singh Rs 4,98,300; Uttam Singh Mundy Rs 4,29,362; Feroz Ali Rs 3,93,240; Rafiq Ali Rs 3,79,632; Pappan Rs 3,64,640; Gaurav Ghei Rs 3,29,980; Jyoti Randhawa Rs 2,91,600; Yusuf Ali Rs 2,52,241; Rahul Ganapathy Rs 2,49,370; C Muniyappa Rs 2,36,750.