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| April 17, 2006 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1427 |
Milkha grabs 1st European Tour crown
BEIJING, April 16: India's Jeev Milkha Singh held his nerve to finally claim his first European Tour title with a one-shot victory at the co-sanctioned China Open on Sunday.
The son of famed Olympic athlete Milkha “the flying Sikh” Singh, the 34-year-old shot a final round 70 to finish at 10 under par for the tournament as his main challengers fell by the wayside.
Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano dropped a shot at the 18th to fall to 70 for the day and finished second on nine under for the tournament.
Briton David Lynn, the leader after the second and third rounds, finished a shot further back after a disappointing 73 with four bogeys and three birdies.
Defending champion Paul Casey shot a 72 for a share of fourth place on seven under, along with fellow Briton Simon Wakefield and Australians Peter Fowler and Jarrod Lyle.
Singh was the first Indian to qualify for the European Tour in 1997 but, plagued by wrist injuries, he played without success until 2002 before returning to the Asian Tour.
He will take home a cheque for $300,000, dwarfing his earnings in the last three years.
The 34-year-old started the day in a tie for second but dropped a shot at the opening hole, before hitting back with birdies at the third, fifth and seventh.
At the 11th, his tee shot went into trees and a spectator picked up the ball and threw it away. The offender received a kick from another spectator but Singh maintained his concentration and found a shot that enabled him to save par.
From then on Singh was rock steady and, with Fernandez in the clubhouse two shots behind, he could afford three putts on the final green to claim victory.
Leading final round scores:
278 -- Jeev Milkha Singh 72 69 67 70
279 -- Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 67 74 68 70
280 -- David Lynn 68 67 72 73
281 -- Simon Wakefield 67 73 70 71; Peter Fowler 71 70 69 71; Paul Casey 71 68 70 72; Jarrod Lyle 68 71 72 70
282 -- Peter O'Malley 72 72 70 68; Ter-Chang Wang 69 72 71 70
283 -- Simon Dyson 67 72 73 71; Peter Hanson 67 72 73 71; Prayad Marksaeng 69 67 72 75; Paul Lawrie 73 70 73 67
284 -- Brett Rumford 69 75 71 69
FURYK SHARES LEAD
MIAMI: Jim Furyk had to settle for a share of the lead with playing partner Aaron Baddeley after bogeying the final hole in the Heritage Classic third round at Hilton Head, South Carolina.
The American, two shots clear at the start of a sunny but breezy day, completed a three-under-par 68 at the Harbour Town Golf Links for a 14-under total of 199.
Leading third round scores:
199 -- Jim Furyk 64 67 68; Aaron Baddeley 66 67 66
202 -- Billy Mayfair (65 69 68
203 -- Ernie Els 71 67 65; Jerry Kelly 68 69 66
204 -- Lucas Glover 70 68 66; Chris Riley 66 70 68; Jose Coceres 69 67 68
205 -- Tim Clark 72 65 68; Vaughn Taylor (63 70 72
206 -- Heath Slocum 71 70 65; Brett Quigley 68 70 68; Jeff Maggert 69 66 71; Tom Pernice Jr. 65 69 72; Brian Gay 66 67 73
207 -- Corey Pavin 69 69 69; Woody Austin 68 69 70; Ben Crane 67 68 72; Duffy Waldorf 65 68 74
208 -- Joe Durant 71 69 68; Scott Verplank 69 71 68; Arjun Atwal 67 70 71; Robert Allenby 70 66 72; Geoff Ogilvy 66 68 74; Fred Funk 68 66 74.—Agencies
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