Bhalotia stages remarkable win

Indrajit Bhalotia upstaged two of the best golfers on the Hero Honda Golf Tour to win the Rs 600,000 HT Pro Golf 2001 – Calcutta, at the par-70 Tollygunge Club in Calcutta on Friday.

The local golfer was aided by a final round four-under 66, which brought him a winning tally of 11-under 269 and the winner’s cheque of Rs 97,200.

The Hindustan Times-sponsored tournament was the first leg of the 2001-02 season’s Hero Honda Golf Tour’s Eastern Swing.

Mukesh Kumar finished a tantalizing one-stroke behind the winner at ten-under 270 to return his third runner-up finish of the season.

Overnight leader Feroz Ali witnessed a complete disintegration of form and confidence as he slid to a third place finish at eight-under 272.

The trio of Shiv Prakash (Kanpur), Uttam Mundy (Calcutta) and Vijay Kumar (Lucknow) finished tied fourth at four-under 276 while Sanjay Kumar (Lucknow) occupied the seventh spot at three-under 277.

Another local hero SSP Chowrasia essayed an eighth place finish at two-under 278.

Indrajit Bhalotia was the happiest man in the world today. A 14-month dry spell broken on his home course, in front of his friends and supporters was all that he could have asked for.

"I am very happy today. This win has brought back my confidence," said the golfer whose last win came at the Wills Southern Open, Bangalore, in September, 2000.

"I was under pressure at the start of the tournament to put up a good showing on my home course and I am glad I did," said the 29-year old, who grew up on the Tollygunge Club course.

"The golf course played fantastic all week," said the champion. "At the start of the day there was a bit of pressure what with Feroz playing so well and Mukesh on his tail. However, I backed myself right through. I went into the final round with the intention of playing my natural game. This really paid off. It was my day today," signed off the genial golfer.

Bhalotia’s round began with a par-bogey start but the Asian Tour regular leveraged that to take his game to a different zone. Closing his front-nine at one-under with birdies on the 5th and 7th, Bhalotia went on to sink three more birdie putts on the 10th, 13th and 15th for his 66. Mukesh Kumar was tied with the eventual winner till the 13th hole, but Bhalotia’s birdie on the 15th settled things in the Calcuttan’s favour.

"I am really disappointed," said Mukesh Kumar. The Order of Merit leader has reason to be. After returning back to back wins at the TNGF Open, Madras and the Sher-e-Kashmir Open, Srinagar, Mukesh has now thrice stumbled on the final hurdle, the other two occasions being a loss to Rahil Gangjee at the HT-Pro Golf 2001 Lucknow and one to Vivek Bhandari the following week at the Noida Open Golf Championship.

"I really need a change in luck," said the Mhow golfer. "Today, I can only blame my loss on my putting. If I had putted better, I would definitely have won," he said, after playing to two-under 68.

Mukesh, who won Rs 67,200, returned five birdies on the 2nd, 7th, 9th, 10th and 13th but a bogey on the 12th and a double bogey on the 5th proved expensive in the end.

Feroz Ali was completely at sea on Friday. The local star failed to card a single birdie with four bogeys, bringing him a score of four-over 74.

"I putted terribly," he said.

The 1998 Indian Open winner missed three putts under two feet each which is unpardonable at this level. Feroz took home Rs 37,800.

Sanjeev Mehra won in the amateur category with a tally of six-over 286.

Mehra’s final round brought him a four-over 74.

SCORES (after 72 holes): 269_Indrajit Bhalotia(65,69,69,66); 270_Mukesh Kumar(65,69,68,68); 272_Feroz Ali(70,62,66,74); 276_Shiv Prakash(68,70,71,67), Uttam Mundy(68,69,70,69), Vijay Kumar(70,66,71,69); 277_Sanjay Kumar(70,72,67,68); 278_Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia(71,71,66,70); 279_Mohd. Salim(73,71,66,69); 281_Minky Barbora(73,69,71,68), Pappan(72,68,73,68); 282_Basad Ali(72,73,68,69), Jumman(71,73,68,70), Rohtas Singh(69,70,71,72).

Amateurs: 286_Sanjeev Mehra(72,71,69,74), 305_Ranjit Singh(78,78,77,72)