Perthshire, Aug 30 (IANS) A horrendous front nine with four bogeys cost Jyoti Randhawa a chance to contend for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles as he ended with a round of 75 and a four-under 284 to finish tied 10th – his first top-10 finish on the European Tour this season.
Though Randhawa may well be ruing the four-over 40 for the first stretch, it was his best finish on European soil in more than two years and the best finish on the European Tour anywhere since his tied seventh at Indonesia and tied second at Malaysian Open in March 2009.
Jeev Milkha Singh, with a round of 76, finished tied for 42nd, while Gaganjeet Bhullar (75) had an up-and-down round with five birdies, six bogeys and one double bogey and ended tied 56th.
Randhawa bogeyed the fourth and fifth and then bogeyed the seventh and eighth to turn in four-over. On the back nine, he steadied himself with no further bogeys and birdied the par-3 17th to finish in 75.
Meanwhile, Italian sensation Edoardo Molinari birdied the last three holes to win the title. The 29-year-old was two behind Australian Brett Rumford with three holes to play, but three straight birdies saw him snatch the trophy.
Molinari, who won the Barclays Scottish Open and with his brother Francesco gave Italy their first-ever Omega Mission Hills World Cup victory last year, was then left to wait to see if he would receive one of Captain Colin Montgomerie’s Ryder Cup wildcards.
Molinari’s latest triumph, which left him an agonising one point short of gaining automatic selection off the world points list, came with a one under par 71 in the windy conditions.
‘Playing on 16, I thought I was one behind, and I had two par fives to play and thought that I still had a chance to win the tournament if I make two birdies in the last three,’ he said.
‘So I was playing very well and I knew I could do it and when I got on to the 16th tee and hit a great second shot. I thought I had a great possibility.
‘I knew I had to do two birdies on the last three at least to tie him and I had a big putt on 16, I think that was very important. And I hit it safely on the green on 17, and just before I hit the putt, Colin, my caddie told me I was owed a putt, because I hit a lot of good putts today that didn’t go in, and he was right, because it went right in the divot and it was a difficult putt, as well,’ Molinari said.
‘And then playing the last, I played a nice second shot, and made a great chip, again. Colin, he is the winner this week, not me, because we spent probably more time this week on the chipping than in the last six months. I started working with him three tournaments ago, at Bridgestone in the States, and I think he’s the best caddie.’
Molinari then two-putted the long 16th, sank a curling 30 footer at the 194 yard 17th and then hit a chip to within 18 inches of the final hole.
Rumford was second and two shots further back were Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Molinari’s brother, who had been the overnight leader and was still in with a chance until he closed with a bogey six.
Jimenez and Swede Peter Hanson were able to start celebrating without waiting for Captain Montgomerie’s decision an hour later. Jimenez needed a top nine finish to make sure and was joint third, while Hanson required top 43 and was 19th.
They did what they had to do to clinch the final two automatic spots for The Celtic Manor Resort on October 1-3, while Simon Dyson, who began the week hoping that a win would get him into the side, finished sixth.
