Sports India

Thailand’s Thammanoon Srirot fired a superb five-under-par 66 as he moved up to joint fourth position in the second round at The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki.

Thammanoon, a five-timer winner on the Asian Tour, carded six birdies against a lone bogey to a six-under-par 136 total. Korea’s SK Ho maintained his strong showing after a 68 in tied second position, three strokes behind leader Soushi Tajima.

China’s Liang Wen-chong was in joint seventh position after a 70 while Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza was in tied 23rd spot alongside Indian star Jeev Milkha Singh.

Arjun Atwal continued his fiery form as he moved to three under par after 11 holes before darkness halted play at the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee in the second round on the US PGA Tour. The Indian talent was among the frontrunners when he fired a six-under-par 64 in second place after the first round on Thursday.

After scoring a 67 in the first round, Korea’s KJ Choi was two under par after 12 holes. American Jason Bohn took the clubhouse lead after a 64 on Friday.

India’s Jyoti Randhawa was the highest ranked Asian player when he shot a three-under-par 69 in the second round at the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe. He was in joint 28th position after a two-day total of seven-under-par 137 in the European Tour event. Sweden’s Robert Karlsson took over the lead after a 66.

Thongchai, a two-time Asian number one, made the cut in tied 37th spot after a 71 on Friday. The Thai shot three birdies against two bogeys at the Gut Kaden Golf Club.

Thongchai was in joint 37th spot alongside Shiv Kapur who was amongst the biggest mover when he carded a sizzling 66 in the second day. He fired seven birdies as his only stumble was a bogey at the par four 10th hole. Singapore’s Mardan, after a poor 76 on Thursday, missed the cut when he shot a 73 in the second round.

Jyoti Randhawa had a superb back nine at the Gut Kaden Golf and Land Club, but cooled off on his second nine for card a four-under 68 to be tied 21st after the first round of the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe.

India’s other challenger, Shiv Kapur brought in a level par round of 72 and was tied 103rd, needing a good second round to make the weekend.

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood led the field at nine-under 63 after a bogey-free round which gave him a one-shot lead over South African Retief Goosen and Robert Karlsson of Sweden.

The 33-year-old Westwood has twice won at Gut Kaden in the past. One of his wins came in 2000 when he beat Tiger Woods on the final day.

Randhawa, starting on the 10th, birdied the first two holes he played and added two more on 15th and 18th to make the turn at four-under.

On the second nine, the front half of the course, Randhawa bogeyed the fourth and birdied the sixth.

Kapur, who played the British Open last week, had a roller-coaster of a round with two birdies but followed both of them by bogeys to finish at par.

If Westwood wins, it could put him in contention for a place in the European Ryder Cup team that faces the United States at K Club in Ireland in September.

Also in line for a place on the team is second placed Karlsson, who seven weeks ago won in the Celtic Manor Wales Open.

Sharing fourth place was Frenchman Gregory Havret with a flawless 65, a card similar to compatriot Jean-Francois Remesy and European Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam.

High on adrenaline after making his maiden British Open appearance, Shiv Kapur is aiming for a strong finish when he tees off at The Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe in Germany this week.

The 24-year-old is looking to solidify his position on the European Tour Order of Merit where he is currently ranked 110th. To earn a card for next season, the New Delhi-born talent needs to finish inside the top-115 by the end of the year.

Kapur, who won the Volvo Masters of Asia last December, is heading into the tournament after a good learning experience in his first British Open that concluded on Sunday.

Despite not making it into the weekend rounds, Kapur said he was positive about future attempts at glory on the major stage.

“My game feels good. There were a lot of positives. You always want to play with the best in the world and I don’t think I’m too far off,” Kapur had said after missing the cut by just two shots.

Kapur’s appearance in The Open Championship was his 16th appearance on the European Tour this season.

At Gut Kaden in Germany, Kapur will look to emulate his top-10 finish at the co-sanctioned Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open in March. He will also get a chance to improve on his ranking on the European Tour when he competes in the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational in the United States next month.

Compatriot Jyoti Randhawa, Singapore’s Mardan Mamat and Thai ace Thongchai Jaidee will be the other Asian stars in fray at the tournament.

Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur will mount the Indian challenge in the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe, which carries a record prize money of euro 3.6 million.

Kapur, who missed the cut last week on his debut at the British Open, will play in the company of two Englishmen, Anthony Wall and Simon Khan, both of whom made the cut at the Major.

Wall was the highest finishing Englishman in tied 11th, while Khan was tied 31st. Wall, 12th in European Money list is also trying to squeeze into the Ryder Cup team, while Khan is 17th on Money List.

Kapur, playing as an affiliate on European Tour, is currently 110th and is trying to seal a card for 2007.

Randhawa is paired with David Bransdon and Christian Reimbold. Randhawa is currently 81st on Money List, while Bransdon is 108th and Reimbold is making only his second start on Main Tour.

The Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe has a classy field with the popular double Major Champion, John Daly of America also among the first players.

Also in the field are Sergio Garcia, David Howell and defending champion Swede Niclas Fasth. Daly was fourth last year. Fasth has been paired with Miguel Angel Jimenez and Lee Westwood.

Garcia, who went in the lead pair at the Open on the final day, is paired with Luke Donald and Paul Broadhurst.

The 100Plus Malaysian Junior Open to be held at the Saujana Golf and Country Club from Aug 15-18 is expected to draw leading junior golfers from 10 countries.

The Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) president Datuk Thomas Lee said the hosting of the tournament is indeed an important event for the development of junior golf in the country and the region.

“A tournament like this attracts the best young international golfers, creating a platform for our juniors to compete against a strong field, thus improving their standard of play,” he told reporters after launching the event here Wednesday.

The event which received a massive boost when the country’s number one isotonic drink, 100Plus, announced its sponsorship today is expected to see the participation from at least 60 local junior golfers and another 60 from abroad.

The nine countries who have confirmed their participation are Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and India while Malaysia, as host, makes it 10.

“These countries will be sending their best junior golfers for the tournament,” said Thomas Lee.

He added that many of the current professionals in the country like Danny Chia, Rahizam Ramli, Airil Rizman, Rashid Ismail, N. Ravichandran and Iain Steel had come through the mill of such junior events.

“Even Asian Tour star Jyoti Randhawa of India and Malaysia’s very own professional golfer Lim Siew Ai who are now playing in the US Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, came through the ranks of junior events,” he said.

The tournament is open to junior golfers aged above 12 and below 18.

The 100Plus Malaysian Junior Open to be held at the Saujana Golf and Country Club from Aug 15-18 is expected to draw leading junior golfers from 10 countries.

The Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) president Datuk Thomas Lee said the hosting of the tournament is indeed an important event for the development of junior golf in the country and the region.

“A tournament like this attracts the best young international golfers, creating a platform for our juniors to compete against a strong field, thus improving their standard of play,” he told reporters after launching the event here Wednesday.

The event which received a massive boost when the country’s number one isotonic drink, 100Plus, announced its sponsorship today is expected to see the participation from at least 60 local junior golfers and another 60 from abroad.

The nine countries who have confirmed their participation are Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and India while Malaysia, as host, makes it 10.

“These countries will be sending their best junior golfers for the tournament,” said Thomas Lee.

He added that many of the current professionals in the country like Danny Chia, Rahizam Ramli, Airil Rizman, Rashid Ismail, N. Ravichandran and Iain Steel had come through the mill of such junior events.

“Even Asian Tour star Jyoti Randhawa of India and Malaysia’s very own professional golfer Lim Siew Ai who are now playing in the US Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, came through the ranks of junior events,” he said.

The tournament is open to junior golfers aged above 12 and below 18.

The 100Plus Malaysian Junior Open to be held at the Saujana Golf and Country Club from Aug 15-18 is expected to draw leading junior golfers from 10 countries.

The Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) president Datuk Thomas Lee said the hosting of the tournament is indeed an important event for the development of junior golf in the country and the region.

“A tournament like this attracts the best young international golfers, creating a platform for our juniors to compete against a strong field, thus improving their standard of play,” he told reporters after launching the event here Wednesday.

The event which received a massive boost when the country’s number one isotonic drink, 100Plus, announced its sponsorship today is expected to see the participation from at least 60 local junior golfers and another 60 from abroad.

The nine countries who have confirmed their participation are Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and India while Malaysia, as host, makes it 10.

“These countries will be sending their best junior golfers for the tournament,” said Thomas Lee.

He added that many of the current professionals in the country like Danny Chia, Rahizam Ramli, Airil Rizman, Rashid Ismail, N. Ravichandran and Iain Steel had come through the mill of such junior events.

“Even Asian Tour star Jyoti Randhawa of India and Malaysia’s very own professional golfer Lim Siew Ai who are now playing in the US Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, came through the ranks of junior events,” he said.

The tournament is open to junior golfers aged above 12 and below 18.

The 100Plus Malaysian Junior Open to be held at the Saujana Golf and Country Club from Aug 15-18 is expected to draw leading junior golfers from 10 countries.

The Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) president Datuk Thomas Lee said the hosting of the tournament is indeed an important event for the development of junior golf in the country and the region.

“A tournament like this attracts the best young international golfers, creating a platform for our juniors to compete against a strong field, thus improving their standard of play,” he told reporters after launching the event here Wednesday.

The event which received a massive boost when the country’s number one isotonic drink, 100Plus, announced its sponsorship today is expected to see the participation from at least 60 local junior golfers and another 60 from abroad.

The nine countries who have confirmed their participation are Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and India while Malaysia, as host, makes it 10.

“These countries will be sending their best junior golfers for the tournament,” said Thomas Lee.

He added that many of the current professionals in the country like Danny Chia, Rahizam Ramli, Airil Rizman, Rashid Ismail, N. Ravichandran and Iain Steel had come through the mill of such junior events.

“Even Asian Tour star Jyoti Randhawa of India and Malaysia’s very own professional golfer Lim Siew Ai who are now playing in the US Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, came through the ranks of junior events,” he said.

The tournament is open to junior golfers aged above 12 and below 18.

Thanks to his tied fifth finish at the Sega Sammy Cup in Hokkaido, Jeev Milkha Singh climbed up two notches to 146th and consolidated his stature as the highest ranked Indian golfer, while Arjun Atwal too moved up a rung to 183, overtaking compatriot Shiv Kapur in the process.

Jeev could not qualify for the British Open and returned to his happy hunting ground, the Japan Tour, and the seasoned Indian came up with yet another top-five finish that saw him reaching the 146th spot with 1.11 average points, according to the Official World Golf Ranking announced on Monday.

Randhawa (.99), the country’s highest ranked golfer for long but not in the best of form in the recent past, slid three rungs to 164.

Orlando-based Arjun Atwal (.88), who finally seemed to have arrested his slide in the PGA Tour, improved his position by a place and reached 183, after his tied 17th finish in the three million dollar BC Open at the Atunyote Golf Course near New York.

Shiv Kapur (.88), who missed the cut in his maiden major appearance at the just-concluded British Open, slipped nine rungs to finish at 184.

At the top of the table, Tiger Woods, after his emotional two-stroke triumph over fellow American Chris DiMarco in the British Open, leads the chart with an 8.51 average point lead over nearest rival and compatriot Phil Mickelson.

Top 10: 1. Tiger Woods, USA (18.28) 2. Phil Mickelson, USA (9.77) 3. Vijay Singh, Fiji (8.23) 4. Jim Furyk, USA (7.34) 5. Retief Goosen, South Africa (7.01) 6. Adam Scott, Australia (6.14) 7. Ernie Els, South Africa (5.98) 8. Geoff Ogilvy, Australia (5.80) 9. Sergio Garcia, Spain (5.45) 10. Luke Donald, England (4.95).

Milkha Singh climbed two places to 146th in the latest World Golf Rankings on the back of his tied fifth place finish at the Sega Sammy Cup on the Japan Tour.

The Chandigarh golfer, who failed to qualify for the British Open at Royal Liverpool Club in Hoylake, England, had fallen four spots last week after enjoying a considerable jump in rankings due to his excellent form this season which has taken him to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Shiv Kapur, the sole Indian representative at British Open, the oldest major in the world, failed to make the cut and saw his ranking fall from 175th to 184th.

Jyoti Randhawa, who was the highest ranked Indian not too long ago, continued to move in the wrong direction as he slid three spots to 164th.

Arjun Atwal managed to arrest the free fall in his ranking by managing a tied 17th place finish at the B C Open on the USPGA Tour. With only his third top-20 finish of the current season, Atwal climbed up a notch to 183rd spot.

Swedish golfer of Indian origin, Daniel Chopra who finished tied 41st in the same event, fell four spots to 175th.

Tiger Woods consolidated his lead at the top of the rankings by claiming his third claret jug at Royal Liverpool. He leads compatriot Phil Mickelson and Fijian Vijay Singh. American Jim Furyk climbs one place to fourth at the expense of South African Retief Goosen.

After his impressive outing at the open championship, Ernie Els moved a place up to seventh behind Australian Adam Scott. Another Aussie, US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy is eighth while Europeans Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald round off the top ten.