Digvijay Singh let loose a birdie blitz to shut the door on Vijay Kumar's title defense aspirations in a semi-final clash at the Rs 10 lakh SRF All India Matchplay Championship 2004 being played at the Delhi Golf Club.

The Meerut based pro beat Vijay 3&2.

In the other semi-final, Jumman ensured at least one Lucknow golfer made it to the 36-hole final when he beat Kolkata's Rafiq Ali 3&1.

Vijay Kumar enjoys the reputation of being a steam-roller. Thus, when the Lucknow golfer opened his semi-final campaign with a birdie, few were surprised. The driver, as most professionals will tell you, is probably the least used club at the Delhi Golf Club given the deadly roughs that flank its narrow fairways.

However, so high were the confidence levels of the defending champion that he let that very club rip off the first tee box. A one-iron and two putts on the green saw Vijay go one up early on. On the very next hole, Digvijay dropped a shot from the center of the fairway to hand his opponent a two-hole lead.

"I must admit I was under pressure after the second hole," said Digvijay. "I hit an erratic two-iron on the third but luckily pared it to half the hole," he added.