Hero Honda Indian Open play-off concluded on Monday

RANDHAWA WINS $400,000 FIRST
PRIZE AFTER SLEEPLESS NIGHT

India's Jyoti Randhawa lifted the US$400,000 Hero Honda Indian Open for the second time in his career today when he returned to Delhi Golf Club to defeat compatriot SSP Chowrasia in a sudden-death play-off early on Monday morning.
Randhawa made a birdie 4 on the 18th hole against Chowrasia's par to triumph on what was the second play-off hole. The pair had been unable to complete the play-off on Sunday evening due to darkness.
It was a case of redemption for Randhawa, who missed a 4ft putt on the first extra hole late on Sunday, which would have won him the title. India's Vijay Kumar had also been involved on the first extra hole but dropped out after hitting his tee shot into the trees.
"I am very pleased with the way I came back and won today. It was nerve wracking missing that putt on the 18th last night. I stood over that putt and was thinking that this is the putt to win the Open and that was enough to cause me to miss it. Today I thought of winning a golf tournament and did not think about the putt," said Randhawa.
The 34-year-old Randhawa revealed that he had an almost sleepless night thinking about his miss. He said: "I went back and thought about it and figured out what went wrong. I only slept three of four hours last night."
The victory, worth US$63,400, meant Randhawa maintained his tremendous track record at Delhi Golf Club, where he won the Hero Honda Masters in 1998 and 1999 and the Indian Open in 2000, which was also in a play-off. The win also pushed Randhawa up to 14th position on the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit.
Chowrasia is a 28 year old rookie on the Asian Tour and son of a greenkeeper.
"Chowrasia is a new kid on the block. He has a great attitude and is a great golfer with a very good golf swing. I think he has a great future and has a lot of years left in him. I am happy that I beat him. He definitely will win the Indian Open one day," said Randhawa.
The Indian has now won six times on the Asian Tour. It was his first success since the Volvo Masters of Asia in 2004. He said working on a more relaxed approach to the game is helping him hugely.
"The more mentally involved you are, the more disturbed you are. I am learning to take a second to hit a golf shot and get on with it, enjoy the walk and smell the flowers," he added.
With the win, Randhawa has booked his spot for the HSBC Champions tournament in November in China.
Chowrasia is a multiple winner on Indian PGA Tour but today's cheque of US$33,900 was far and away the biggest pay day of his career.
"I was relaxed out there. I am happy with the way I played. I know that my chance will come. I did not get tense and I slept well. In fact my roommate, Rafiq Ali was saying that he could not sleep, but I slept nicely," said Chowrasia, who shares second place with Kumar.
The performance made amends for his mishap in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in September, whenhe led by three shots after two rounds but was disqualified for not signing his scorecard. He is sponsored by Royal Calcutta Golf Club, where his father was the green keeper. He grew up living by one of the greens where he honed a magnificent short game that has earned him the nickname "Chipandputtasia".