Indians fare well on fairways; Randhawa misses top 10

Munich, June 25 (UNI) Spurred by two eagles on the back nine, Jyoti Randhawa played a three-under 69 last round to end his BMW Championship Campaign at Munich Golf Club on an impressive tied 11th, missing by whisker his fourth top-10 finish on the European Tour this year.

His illustrious compatriot and country's top-ranked golfer Jeev Milkha Singh had a roller-coaster last round and finished tied 18th after carding one-under 71 yesterday. Another Indian in the fray, Shiv Kapur played the best round among three and carded a superb four-under 68, despite a double bogey on the par-four third hole, to notch up tied 22nd position.

Randhawa aggregated seven-under 281 in four rounds -- a stroke less than Benn Barham of England and Thomas Levet of France who shared ninth spot. A stroke futher behind was Jeev while Kapur totalled five-under 283.

Swede Niclas Fasth held on to his lead and carded a two-under 70 yesterday to walk away with the top honours with 13-under.

Bernhard Langer of Germany came up with a 67 to mount a serious challenge but had to settle for tied second spot with overnight leader Jose-Filipe Lima of Portugal who slipped with a level-par 72 last round.

Meanwhile, tied 21st overnight Jyoti Randhawa, a consistent performer on the European Tour, saved his best for the very last as he more than negated bogeys on either side of the turn with timely eagles.

The Delhi golfer, who is also an avid biker, was off to a cautious start before suddenly moving into the top gear. He opened his account with a bogey on the seventh hole to make the turn at one-over. The superb eagle on the par-five 11th was followed by a birdie but Randhawa dropped another stroke on the 14th. He timed his second eagle to perfection putting his par-five last hole in just three strokes.

On the other hand, a poor start and lapse in concentration towards the end cost Jeev a higher finish as the World No 57 slipped two places from his tied 16th overnight after mixing five birdies with four bogeys.

UNI