Ashok Kumar, in only his second year as a professional, won the Servo Masters Golf 2003 title at the Digboi Golf Links course in Assam by five strokes on Saturday.

Beginning the day leading by a solitary stroke, the 21 year-old bogeyed at two holes but that did not stop him from winning at nine-under 279.

Clubmate Pappan, who was in the reckoning till the front nine, ended up as the runner-up with a total of 284 while S S P Chowrasia and Sanjay Kumar shared the third position just a stroke behind.

This was Ashok's second career title. He had won the NOIDA Open last year. He took home the winner's cheque of Rs 1,37,700 while Pappan was richer by Rs 95,200.

Chowrasia raised hopes of a victory when he birdied the third and fifth to go ahead by one stroke. But he three-putted from the fringe on the seventh for a par while Ashok made a birdie to tie the score.

The match was almost over when Chowrasia, trying to cut across the dog-leg par-5 ninth, lost his ball and ended up with a double bogey to go four strokes behind at the turn.

Meanwhile, Pappan made two consecutive bogeys on the ninth and tenth to go out of contention.

Ashok Kumar, who till then had a hat-trick of birdies starting from the seventh, made a bogey on the tenth. But with consecutive birdies on the 13th and 14th, he sealed the issue in his favour with a five-stroke lead.

Chowrasia's agony doubled on the back nine as his hitting became worse. Finding the bushes most of the time, he made four bogeys on the 11th, 12th, 14th, and 17th while firing a lone birdie on the 15th.