Mukesh wins Tamil Nadu Open; his fourth this season

Chennai, Aug 30 (UNI) A five under 65 in the final round was enough for Mukesh Kumar to bag his fourth title of the 2007-08 PGTI season of the Tamil Nadu Open Golf Championship at the Madras Gymkhana Club's course in Guindy here today.

The Mhow-based golfer recorded a comprehensive 11-stroke win as he finished with a tournament total of 21 under 259, a course record for four rounds at the Madras Gymkhana Club.

Mukesh broke the previous course record of 18 under that was held by Digvijay Singh.

Sanjay Kumar fired three under 67 on the final day to finish as the runner-up with a total of 10 under 270.

Mukesh's phenomenal victory in Chennai has propelled him to second place in this season's Order of Merit.

Mukesh capped his week with excellent scores of 67, 63, 64 and 65 to win his third title in Chennai. In the fourth round, he did not sit back on his overnight eight stroke lead but instead strived towards increasing the margin as he made six birdies and a lone bogey.

He picked up his first birdie of the day on the par five third hole, where he actually missed an eight feet putt for eagle. He then sank a 20 feet putt to make birdie on the fifth. Four more birdies followed on the 10th, 12th, 15th and 16th.

On the 12th, Mukesh missed a three feet putt for eagle. The veteran closed at five under after dropping a bogey on the 17th.

''I played a very steady game today and as a result a number of birdies came my way. My putting worked for me once again. It was one of those days when I knew that no one really stands a chance to catch up with me.

''Therefore, I did feel any kind of pressure and just went out there and played a normal round by my standards,'' Mukesh said after his win.

He further added that he felt great to have already won four titles this season with 2007-08 season turning out to be one of the best ever for him.

Sanjay (70, 68, 65, 67) of Lucknow was the runner-up as he finished with a tournament total of 10 under 270. He knocked down birdies on the fifth, seventh, eighth, 12th, 13th and dropped bogeys on the fourth and 10th.

Vikrant Chopra (66, 73, 67, 65), Vijay Kumar (69, 67, 67, 68), C Muniyappa (70, 65, 67, 69) and Shankar Das (67, 69, 66, 69) were all tied third with a total of nine under 271.

Ashok Kumar's (71, 67, 68, 67) totaled seven under 273 and climbed from overnight tied ninth to seventh place.

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