Johnnie Walker Classic

Posted by Admin (IN) 13 Aug 2008

Mark Brown with the Johnnie Walker Classic 2008 trophy

When New Zealander Mark Brown flew into India in end February, little did he know what lay in store for him. Two weeks later, the golfer was a household name in India. This was courtesy Brown's twin wins at the SAIL Open and the Johnnie Walker Classic 2008.

The Johnnie Walker Classic, played at the Arnold Palnmer designed DLF Golf & Country Club was by way of being the biggest ever and most reputed golf tournament to grace Indian shores. That the legendary Tiger Woods had won the tournament twice added further sheen to its reputation. Offering a prize purse of US$2.5 million, the event was sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and PGTI.

Back home, SSP Chowrasia's win at the Indian Masters in early February, had got everyone excited. If an Indian were to triumph at this prestigious event, it would take the sports to a different strata altogether. With the field including the likes of Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Colin Montgomerie and defending champion Anton Haig to name a handful, India's title candidates namely Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur and SSP Chowrasia would indeed have to turn in a spectacular performance to cause an upset.

The highlight of Mark Brown's final round surge came on his return journey. Five birdies on the back nine handed him a card of five-under 67 and a tournament tally of 18-under 270. The Australian pair of Greg Chalmers and Scott Strange and Japan's Taichiro Kiyota finished tied second three strokes behind the winner.

Overnight leader Kiyota lead Brown by four strokes coming into the final nine holes but the latter stepped on the accelerator to return four successive birdies from the 12th even as Kiyota who fired three birdies on the front nine, fell by the wayside with an average back-nine performance. Brown nudged into the lead when Kiyota bogeyed the 17th With a two-stroke cushion playing the final hole, the Kiwi was indeed less stressed out than his competitors.

However, just when all looked hunky dory, Brown mishit his second shot which looked headed for the water body guarding the front edge of the green. Dame luck however had other ideas and the ball came to rest on the edge of the green. Brown two putted for a final birdie to wrap up the title and the winner's cheque of US$409,743. The win propelled him to the top of the Asian Tour's Order of Merit and placed him in elite company with names like Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Ernie Els . . . . all former Johnnie Walker Classic winners.

"It is amazing to have my name there," he said. "I have worked extremely hard for this and it is a dream come true. I played for eight or nine years first time round and I wasn't good enough physically or mentally. I have worked for three years to come back and my coach Mal Tongue has been a tremendous support. The last two weeks have been a blur."

Looking back on his round, Brown admitted it wasn't easy. "I played terrible the front side, I don't think I hit a fairway or green and got to the tenth and said to myself let's have a solid nine holes and the birdies started falling. The rest is a dream."

The dream was almost shattered with his second shot to the last. "It was the worst shot I've hit sine I was 14! Totally out of the heel and so thin I thought it was completely in the water. It couldn't go anywhere else. Luckily I had enough club with six iron and it must have just scrapped over, it was quite a relief after that."

Kiyota, who, had he won, would have become Asia's first winner of the Johnnie Walker Classic, carded a two over on his back nine for a final round 71.

"As the score shows the front nine was great but on the back nine I started to think of victory and lost my pace," he said. "I started thinking I could win on the 12th and made bogey and that just knocked me off my pace. But Mark played great golf over the back nine and I feel he definitely won it."

Jyoti Randhawa in action

Scott Strange too had thrown his hat in the ring with a hat-trick of birdies on the back nine to move into a three-way tie for the lead. But Brown edged one ahead with his birdie on the 16th. On his 72^nd hole, Strange played aggressive golf in an attempt to birdie but his efforts landed him in the fairway bunker and found a terrible lie under the lip. His recovery hit a tree and third overshot the green.

"It was a disappointing finish but I would have taken it at the start of the week," said Strange, a two-time Asian Tour winner. "I played well, the best I have played this year and I am looking forward to the rest of the year now." Shiv Kapur finished the week as the leading Indian after a round of 68 left him in a share of fifth place on 274 alongside Sweden's Johan Edfors, who shot a best of the day 65, and England's Graeme Storm (69).