Last time Gary Lockerbie led a golf tournament after 54 holes, he went on to win. That was at the honored Lytham Trophy two years ago when the Lockerbie was still an amateur.

The 24-year-old from Penrith is the joint-leader on 12-under 204 with China’s Liang Wenchong after shooting a three-under 69 in the third round yesterday.

Hot on their heels is India’s Jyoti Randhawa, who is one shot behind on 205 after returning an even-par 72 yesterday.

The European Tour rookie will be hoping for the same fairytale finish when he tees off in the final group of the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters today.

Ireland’s Peter Lawrie and Malaysia’s Iain Steel are joint-third on 206.

Asked if he would feel the butterflies in his stomach when he stands on the first tee today, Lockerbie said: ‘This is a bit of a new experience for me, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.’

If not for a bogey on the closing 18th hole at Laguna National’s Masters course yesterday, the 2003 English amateur champion would have taken the outright lead for the US$1.1 million ($1.68m) European Tour and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event.

Starting the day at nine-under, Lockerbie, who turned pro in 2005, moved to 11-under after seven holes with birdies on the third and fifth holes. Then his drive found the water on the par-three eighth hole, resulting in a double-bogey. But he picked himself up and collected three birdies in the next four holes before dropping a shot on the par-four 14th. Another two birdies on the 16th and the tough par-three 17th gave him the outright lead going into the last hole. But Lockerbie missed a six-foot par putt to take the gloss off a stellar performance. He said: ‘It was a pity about the 18th, but I would definitely have taken being tied for the lead after today. ‘I would have taken a 69 today as well so I am just going to forget about what happened at the last. ‘I think the birdie I made down the 17th was a bit of a bonus anyway so that is what happens.’ No matter what happens today, Lockerbie can be proud of his performance this week. This time last year, he was still playing on the Challenge Tour in Europe. Missing only four cuts from 24 events, Lockerbie finished 13th in the rankings and gained entry into the European Tour as a result.

But his results so far have been anything but impressive. He missed the cut in five of his first seven events but perhaps it is worth noting that in the two events where he made the weekend play, he finished in the top 10. He came in eighth at the South African Airways Open in December and fifth at the Malaysian Maybank Open last month. However, winning is not the foremost thing on his mind right now. He said: ‘I am just trying to secure a card for next year. ‘As for tomorrow, I’m not going to do anything different from what I have done this week. ‘I will try hard but not too hard because if you try too hard that is when things start going wrong. ‘I will try to get off to a steady start and not try to do anything fancy because I don’t think it takes a really low score to win tomorrow. ‘If I can knock it round in three- or four-under, I’m not going to be far away.’

Seoul, May 29, Amandeep Johl finished tied 15th as he ended with a three-over round of 75 on the final day of the US$500,000 Maekyung Open at the Nam Seoul Country Club here today.

Johl was tied fifth and looked set for a good finish but his putter failed him on the last day.

Korean veteran Choi Sang-ho thwarted a brave bid by Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand to lift title by three strokes.

Overnight leader Choi completed his sensational wire-to-wire triumph with a final round of two-under-par 70, which gave him a four-day winning aggregate of 10-under-par 278. His victory, worth US$98,000, made him the oldest winner on the Asian Tour at the age of 50 years and 145 days.

Thaworn finished second following a 70 while Korea’s Sung Si-woo came in third on 282. Korean amateur Kim Kyung-tae and Kim Hyung-tae shared fourth place, a further two strokes back. Australian Marcus Both and Thailand’s Boonchu Ruangkit closed with matching 71s to be amongst those sharing sixth place on 285.

Thaworn’s second place cheque of US$61,274 saw him replace compatriot Thongchai Jaidee at the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit with US$326,229.

India’s second player on the weekend, Shiv Kapur had another disappointing round, as he shot a five-over 77 to finish at 15-over 303 and he was tied 68th.

New Delhi, May 26: A seven-member Indian squad including three girls, will represent the country in the 26th Asia Pacific Junior Golf Team Championship to be held at Ora Country Club at Jeju-Do, Korea from May 31-June 3.

The Indian team which leaves here for Korea on May 27 will be accompanied by two officials.

The Indian Golf Union (IGU) has also cleared Rommel Majumdar, Viraat Badhwar to take part in the individual events in Category ‘C’ and ‘D’ to give them international exposure.

IGU secretary general S Aparajit said here yesterday that the boys’ team had a fairly good chance of winning the prestigious trophy.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, as a junior, heads the merit list in the men’s category and Ajeetesh Sandhu is the leading junior of the country and recently was runners up at the Asia Pacific Master Golf Championship. Both of them have the potential to win the championship.

The IGU secretary said the championship is of greater importance this year as these juniors will also be in the run for selection for the Indian team for Asian Games 2006.

Gaganjeet Bhullar and Ajeetesh Sandhu have also been selected to represent the men’s team for the Asia Pacific Amateur Golf Championship (Nomura Cup) to be played at Japan. Among the girls, Meghna Bal – who is now playing in US – and Bhavana Shetty, with Vaishvi Sinha are likely to offer strong opposition, he added.

New Delhi, May 23: The richest ever season on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour will witness its final leg, the Amby Valley PGAI Championship of India played at the Amby Valley Golf Course from 1st to 4th June, 2005. The pro-am will bring the curtain down on proceedings on 5th June.

The second richest event in the history of the Amby Valley PGAI Tour, the tournament offers Rs 45 lakhs in prize purse with the winner’s cheque amounting to Rs 7,29,000. The runner-up will pocket Rs 5,04,000, while the last place will fetch Rs 20,079. The 21st leg of the Amby Valley PGAI Tour’s 2004-05 season, will propel the total prize purse for the season to a record total of Rs 3.05 crores.

Leading the brigade of those who raked it in, is Mukesh Kumar, who has amassed a record total of Rs 24,64,360 in only 18 starts. Mukesh’s achievement has been aided by six title triumphs. Ashok Kumar stands second in that list at Rs 13, 48,469, a staggering Rs 11,15,891 behind the leader. Ashok has five wins to his credit.

The growth of the Tour in one single calendar year can be assessed by the fact that the top five golfers have each earned in excess of Rs 10-lakhs, with Shiv Kapur (Rs 12,36,400), Rafick Ali (Rs 10,29,442) and Vijay Kumar (Rs 97,67,92) completing that list.

The top-10 golfers have earned in excess of Rs 6 lakhs, while the top-14 in excess of five lakhs. 17 golfers have crossed the Rs 4 lakh barrier while as many a 27 have taken home an amount greater than three lakhs. The figure for those earning more than two lakhs stands at 38, with 65 golfers entitled to call themselves ’lakhpatis’.

With the Rs 45 lakh Amby Valley PGA Championship of India still to be played these figures will definitely undergo a sea change which will depict a clear picture of where professional golf stands as a career option today. Amby Valley, which has raised the bar of quality standards of lifestyle in India has also changed the face of Indian sport. And the Indian golf is now reaping the rewards and the sky is the limit from this point on.

MANILA: Arjun Singh stumbled a bit with a one-over 72, but continued to be the best among the five Indians left in the 89th Philippine Open, the 13th leg of this season’s Asian Tour. Arjun, trying to recapture the form that saw him retain his card for six years in a row, is now one-over for 54 holes a t 214. Australian Jason Dawes smashed the course record with a sizzling nine-under-par 62 to take lead from Thailand’s Boonchu Ruangkit at the end of 54 holes.

Dawes, 31, winner of the Taiwan Open in 2003, had an error-free card of nine birdies at the par-71 Mt Malayarat Golf and Country Club and bettered the previous course mark by two strokes.

OKAYAMA: Jyoti Randhawa shot a flawless and careful two-under 70 to make the cut while India’s other challenger Jeev Milkha Singh missed it following a three-over 75 in the second round at the par-72 Tojigaoka Marine Hills Golf Club in the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup 2005 here.

Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita led at 15-under with rounds of nine-under 63 and six-under 66, and he was way ahead at five strokes clear of second placed Steve Conran (68, 66) at 10-under and third placed M Ozaki (67, 68) and nine-under Randhawa, who had scored 71 on first day and 70 on second day to put him at one-under for 36 holes. He was tied 36th. Jeev also had a 71 on first day but after two days he ended at two-over 146, while the cut came at even par 144. Jeev also started on the tenth and birdied the 12th, but bogeyed the 14th, 16th and double bogeyed the 18th.

Two weeks ago, this column described hill station golf options around India. For the more adventurous - there are a dazzling variety of options abroad. However, in the summer, the best option is Europe and more specifically, Scotland, the home of golf. Scotland with its old world links courses is a refreshing experience - different from the slick holiday resort destinations that are common in most holiday towns.

One way to enhance your golf holiday experience is to actually time it so well that you can go watch the best players in the world play. What better tournament than the British Open which this year is being played at the venerable Mecca of golf - the game’s birthplace at St. Andrews, Scotland. This year’s Open and a golf holiday around it is my choice for golf holiday pick of the summer and here’s a sample of what your itinerary could look like.

While Sandhu retained his lead with a level-par round, Raj Randhawa made a big move with a two-under seventy.

Ajeetesh Sandhu didn’t do anything spectacular. For the third day in a row, the 16-year-old star failed to master the KGA greens and putted more like a novice. The Merit List leader, however, shot a level-par 72 round on the third day on Thursday to maintain his lead in Category A (15-17 years).

After the third round of the Nokia South India Junior and Sub-junior golf championships at the KGA course, Sandhu took his three-day tally to level-par 216, six strokes ahead of schoolmate Rahul Bakshi and big mover Raj Randhawa.

While Bakshi shot a two-over 74, Randhawa, having quit studies and playing golf full-time for the last three years, submitted the best card of the day, a two-under 70 seeing him jump from sixth to the tied second spot.

There were no changes at the top in the other categories either. Bakshi continues to lead Category B (13-14 years) with a cumulative total of six-over 222. Bangalore lad Khalin Joshi leads Category C (11-12 years) with a score of 249, while Ankur Chadha leads Category D (below 10 years) with a two-day total of 165. The tiny tots’ tournament is restricted to 54 holes.

After 54 holes, Sandhu is on familiar territory – within striking distance of another title and way ahead of the pack. Winner of six titles last season, the 16-year-old is sure to add to his growing collection unless he does something really stupid or someone comes up with a sensational final-round score.

That shouldn’t bother Sandhu much. The teenager has been in such positions before and come up trumps. The title is what will be on his mind, and not how others play. One thing that should concern the young champ is his putting.

“Hopefully my putting will improve tomorrow,” Sandhu had said after the second round. But after the third round, the 11th standard student from St John’s High School, Chandigarh is yet to come to grips with the quick greens.

On a hot and humid Thursday, Sandhu was off-colour both with his hitting and putting, the latter more so. His card of 72 was studded with a lone birdie on the par-three eighth-hole. That advantage was negated with a three-putted bogey on the 16th hole.

Randhawa, who had taken Sandhu to a play-off in a tournament last season, was more confident on the greens. He needed just 29 putts to complete the round, four less than Sandhu. A monstrous 35-footer on the eighth was the stand-out. The 17-year-old Delhi lad had five birdies and three bogeys in his round of 70.

Down with viral fever, Anirbhan Lahari, two strokes behind the leader overnight, shot a dismal 12-over 84 to fade out of contention.

Scores (after 54 holes unless mentioned): Category A (15-17 years): 216: Ajeetesh Sandhu (Chd, 74, 70, 72); 222: Raj Randhawa (Del, 74, 78, 70), Rahul Bakshi (Chd, 71, 77, 74); 228: Surya J Prakash (Kol, 72, 75, 81); 230: Anirbhan Lahari (S’bad, 75, 71, 84), Madhav Soi (Del, 78, 74, 78).

Category B (13-14): 222: Rahul Bakshi (Chd, 71, 77, 74); 230: Madhav Soi (Del, 78, 74, 78); 231: Amanjyot Singh (J’pur, 78, 76, 77); 237: Pritam Haridas (B’lore, 80, 78, 79), Udayan Mane (B’lore, 78, 81, 78).

Category C (11-12): 249: Khalin Joshi (B’lore, 78, 81, 90); 261: Anish Gupta (Chd, 89, 82, 90); 263: Ainesh Ahluwalia (Del, 87, 85, 91); 268: Hemandra Chaudhury (J’pur, 89, 93, 86); 276: Jay Shirke (Pune, 95, 89, 92).

Category D (below 10, after 36 holes): 165: Ankur Chadha (Del, 82, 83); 175: Rahul Ravi (B’lore, 91, 84); 179: Syed Saqib Ahmed (B’lore, 89, 90); 182: Tarundeep Singh (Chd, 87, 95), Roshan Raj (B’lore, 95, 87).

MACAU, MAY 12: Amandeep Johl led one of India’s largest ever contingents in an Asian tour event outside India with an one-under 70, a score also shot by Uttam Singh Mundy and Rahil Gangjee as the Macau Open got underway here today.

There are as many as 13 Indians in the fray but the opening day belonged to a Chinese player, Zheng Wen-Gen, who shot a six-under 65 to share the lead with Australian Marcus Both in the $ 275,000 tournament. However, most had expected Zhang Lian Wei Zhang Lian Wei, winner here in 2001 and 2002, to excel.

Chinese Taipei duo Wang Ter-Chang and Lu Wei-Lan ended the day a stroke back while defending champion Jason Knutzon was amongst those sharing fifth place following a 67, and he must have enjoyed the pleasure of outscoring playing partner and former masters winner Fred Couples by one stroke.

Johl had a roller coaster of a round with five birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey. He had two birdies on the front nine, where he also had a double bogey and on the back nine, he dropped a shot on tenth, but birdied 13th, 16th and 17th.

Gangjee also had five birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey. Uttam singh Mundy, who has not got enough starts this year because of his low placing last year and missing out in the Q-school, had a steadier round with three birdies and two bogey for his 70.

Four Indians shot level rounds of 71 each and they included Harmeet Kahlon, who has been struggling this year. Also getting a par round were the Delhi trio of Gaurav Ghei, Shiv Kapur and Arjun Singh.

Mukesh Kumar, making an appearance on Asian Tour after a long time, managed only two over 73, one behind Firoz Ali, another veteran on Indian tour. Sandy Lehal, who turned pro only a few weeks ago, got into the event late and carded two over 73, the same as city mate Gurbaaz Mann from Chandigarh. Vivek Bhandari and Digvijay Singh went three-over 74 each.

The day belonged the 38-year-old Zhang, who, like his namesake, was amongst the pioneers of professional golf in China. But, while Zhang has soared to international fame with five career victories on the Asian Tour which includes wins over Ernie Els, Nick Price and Colin Montgomerie, Zheng has struggled, missing 21 cuts in 29 appearances in Asia since 1997.

New Delhi, May 11: Asia’s golf legend Hsieh Min-Nan will have another crack at the Macau Open title when he lines up alongside six of his victorious Visa Dynasty Cup team members including Amandeep Johl of India.

Six of Hsieh’s victorious team members – Johl, Chinese star Zhang Lian-Wei, a two-time Macau Open winner, Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant and Boonchu Ruangkit, Singaporean number one Mardan Mamat, and Kyi Hla Han of Myanmar – would feature in the competition.

The 64-year-old Hsieh led Asia to a superb victory over a Shigeki Maruyama-led Japan in the Ryder Cup-style showdown in Shenzhen, China last month but starting on Thursday, he will be battling on personal terms after accepting a sponsor’s invite to feature in Macau.

The Chinese Taipei veteran has won a bagful of titles in Asia, along with three Order of Merit crowns, the 1972 World Cup and numerous individual titles during his hey-days.