Casares, Spain, Oct 31 (Inditop.com) A back-nine fightback by Jeev Milkha Singh fell just a bit short and he missed making the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play championships on Friday.
Jeev, who at one stage fell four holes behind Ross Fisher after 10 holes, narrowed the gap down to just two with two holes to go. A missed putt on 17th ended his hopes despite the birdie which further reduced the gap to just one.
Fisher’s one hole win earned him a second victory and with four points he topped the pool and moved into last four.
In the semi-finals at World Match Play, Anthony Kim will meet Robert Allenby while Angel Cabrera will clash with Ross Fisher.
In an earlier match, Camilo Villegas beat Jeev 3-up.
If Jeev had halved the match against Fisher, both players would have finished with three points – as also the other two, Lee Westwood and Villegas who halved their match – but Jeev would have topped the pool on number of holes won. Jeev ended with the best hole difference of +2, but fell back on points and ended fourth in his group. He picked up a cheque of 120,000 euros, which will help him gain a few places from his current 39th place.
“It was a great match,” said Jeev about his clash with Fisher. While Jeev had six birdies and a bogey, Fisher had back-to-back eagles on third and fourth, and three other birdies and just one bogey on the 18th. That would translate to a 67 for Jeev and 65 for Fisher in the exciting clash.
“At this level the difference is so little, but I am happy with the way I played. The ankle seems to be getting better,” he added.
Jeev will play in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai next week.
rounak