Randhawa falters to tied 3rd, misses title at Malaysian Masters

Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Sep 3 (UNI) Jyoti Randhawa faltered in the closing stages to miss the title by a whisker and finish tied third after carding an otherwise brilliant four-under 68 in the final round of the 300,000 dollar Pulai Springs Malaysian Masters here today.

Randhawa sank in six birdies and an eagle against four bogeys -- three of them coming in his last four holes -- in the final round to accumulate a total of 20-under 268, just two shots behind winner Anton Haig (68) of South Africa.

However, despite the disappointment of missing the title, Randhawa had reasons to smile as he booked his place in the Barclays Singapore Open after finishing among the top five.

Disaster struck for Randhawa as he finished with two bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes after an eagle on the 16th. He slipped down to joint third when he missed a four foot par putt on the 18th hole.

Haig took advantage of the Indian's folly and fired birdies on his last two holes to finish a shot ahead of Scotsman Barry Hume (66) and claim his maiden Asian Tour title.

The 20-year-old champion walked away with the top prize of 47,550 dollar.

Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for Randhawa, who was within sniffing distance of the title as he soared to tied second spot after the penultimate round.

The seasoned pro had a near perfect front nine as he fired birdies on the first, third and sixth before stumbling to a bogey on the seventh but he quickly recovered to gain a shot on the ninth to make the turn at three-under.

He continued with his fine form and fired two more birdies on the 11th and 14th but a dropped shot on the 15th pulled him back. He, however, sank in an eagle on the 16th to take the lead before two disappointing bogeys on the 17th and 18th marred his show and denied him the title.

Among the other Indians in the fray, Gaurav Ghei finished 13th after a carding a modest two-under 70 in the final round. Ghei -- with a four-day total of 14-under 274 -- was followed by Shiv Kapur, who finished a disappointing tied 27th after a horrendous back nine, in which he dropped four bogeys, pulled him down from his overnight standing of tied 11th.

With a one-over 73 in the final round Shiv ended up with a four-day total of 11-under 277 to share the 27th position with -- among others -- Digvijay Singh, who carded a two-under 70 today.

Gurbaaz Mann (71) was tied for the 32nd spot with a total of 10-under 278 followed by Arjun Singh at the tied 48th position (68) and SSP Chowrasia (75) at the tied 60th.

Leading final round scores: Anton Haig (RSA) (266) Barry Hume (SCO) (267) Yasin Ali (ENG), Jyoti Randhawa (IND) (268) Lin Chie-hsiang (TPE) (271) UNI XC PM YA KN1600