PATNA, India – Dec. 6, 2004 – Rafick Ali took his count of (Amby Valley) PGAI Tour title wins at Patna to three in his last four appearances courtesy a superlative win at the Rs 10-lakh Patna Open 2004 played at the par-70, Patna Golf Course. In a near repeat of his 1999 win where he defeated Mukesh in a play-off, Rafick battled tooth and nail with the same opponent to pull the rug from under his feet yet again this time with a well compiled final round five-under 65.
The winner, at a tournament tally of 16-under 264, pocketed the first prize cheque of Rs 1,62,000. Mukesh Kumar after a dismal putting display finished tied second along with 2001 Patna Open winner Lucknow’s Vijay Kumar at 11-under 269. The duo who on Sunday brought in cards of 68 and 67 respectively got to take home Rs 87,500 apiece for their effort.
Kolkata’s Feroz Ali finished fourth at ten-under 270, while Kanpur veteran Shiv Prakash occupied the fifth place one stroke behind Feroz. Left to Rafick Ali, he would carry the Patna Golf Course in his golf set wherever he went. Indeed, to say Rafick enjoys a love affaire with this facility would not be too off the mark. The Kolkatan won his first ever Amby Valley PGAI Tour event here in 1999, when he beat Mukesh in a play-off.
The following year he registered a successful title defense which he failed to repeat in 2001, but even on that occasion, Rafick finished second to Vijay Kumar. When the final round of the Patna Open 2004 teed off on Sunday, Rafick was a little wary. The cherubic golfer had not won a tournament on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour since the Royal Challenge Grand Prix 2001 in Kolkata. As recently as last week, Mukesh beat him to the race to win the IndianOil Servo Masters leaving the Kolkatan to lick his wounds at tied-second place.
This time a resurgent Mukesh looked determined to repeat that act. This was not to be.
Rafick’s round started well enough with a birdie. On the following hole, was sitting over a seven feet birdie putt, which he surprisingly three-putted. This turned the pressure on, which birdies on the fourth and eighth eased off a bit. Things got close when Rafick missed a two feet putt to bogey the tenth. With Mukesh birding the 11th, the Kolkata’s lead was whittled down to one stroke.
“At this stage, I hit a bad drive on the 12th but a given chip shot saw me birdie the hole. I then birdied the 13th which was the turning point of the day as far as I am concerned,” said the winner. Two more birdies on the 14th and 17th handed Rafick the title. Mukesh Kumar understandably was livid with his putter. “Bekaar,” was the word he had to use for his short game. Mukesh missed a three feet birdie putt on the second, five feet on the third, four feet on the ninth and two feet on the 13th. “At the start of the day, I was confident of winning the title but I just couldn’t find that cup,” said the three time Order of Merit winner.
The 38 year old had birdies on the first, seventh, 11th, 12th and 15th and bogeys on the fourth, 16th and 17th. “Even if I had not dropped shots on the 16th and 17th I would have attacked and tried to catch Rafick but …,” sighed the second ranked golfer on the Money List. Vijay Kumar had an error free round, with three birdies dotting his card on the sixth, ninth and 13th. The Lucknow golfer was surprisingly not a bit pleased with his effort. “If I sit and count the number of short putts I missed I’d be counting till the end of the Nepal event,” joked the 36 year old.
Sharan wins amateur title: Roshan Sharan, Captain – Patna Golf Course, shot a final round 79 to win the amateur title at a tournament tally of 302.
Final scores: 264 Rafick Ali (67,63,69,65); 269 Mukesh Kumar (67,69,65,68), Vijay Kumar (68,66,68,67); 270 Feroz Ali (68,66,68,68); 271 Shiv Prakash (67,69,67,68); 273 Ranjit Singh (66,71,68,68), Sanjay Kumar (65,70,69,69); 278 Mohd. Nawab (76,68,68,66), Yusuf Ali (68,71,72,67); 279 Chini Ali (71,69,71,68), Nabin Mondal (71,71,68,69); 280 Jumman (70,69,72,69), Akbar Ali (69,70,71,70), Basad Ali (70,68,70,72), Rahul Ganapathy (70,70,67,73)
