Jyoti Randhawa found an unexpected ally in the Delhi Golf Club bush today. As overnight leader Gaurav Ghei and last round’s biggest challenger, Ashok Kumar, got a taste of the wild Delhi vegetation, the 34-year-old kept the discipline intact, and himself to the fairway, running away with the AIS Open title in the end. Shiv Kapur broke the course record — it was equalled twice in the tournament— with a stunning 10-under on the day to jump up to tied sixth in the final standings. Randhawa finished with an astounding 22-under for the four rounds, a tournament record at the DGC. He fired a bogey-less eight-under as Ghei and Kumar wilted under his clinical precision and dropped off from the race. It hadn’t looked that way in the morning. Blazing in his fuchsia shirt, Kumar started his round with a superb eagle chip-putted from about three feet off the green. That was followed by an up-down putt from at least 40 feet on the second. Four more birdies followed in the next six holes and with his touch with the putter absolutely spot-on, it was game on. But he could not sustain with his long game as he was able to do with the short. Once he began to sprinkle it around in the jungle, he dropped too many shots. On a day when he hit six birdies and two eagles, the three bogeys and a triple — on the 18th hole— proved his undoing. Ghei minimised the damage on the front-nine — with three birdies for the two bogeys — but found one too many bush on his way back. And unlucky 13 took his card beyond repair. Right bushes with the tee, a drop, a hit into the trees and then a shot too short of the green on the par-four hole meant he had a double bogey and no chance of gaining the lost ground. Randhawa, meanwhile, kept it simple and steady. Not trying anything fancy, he shot into the lead on the seventh and then never gave it up. In the end, consistency in not straying from the fairways and keeping it accurate proved the difference. He made eight birdies for his eight-under round, walking away with the top prize of Rs 9,72,000.
