Atako-Lindskog holds on to win Matoa Nasional Open

JAKARTA (JP): When he is on his game, Nigerian golfer Stephen Atako-Lindskog is indomitable.

Playing with full confidence, Atako-Lindskog displayed his talents on his way to a three-stroke victory in the Matoa Nasional Open-Andersen Consulting Challenge championship on Friday.

After his victory, Atako-Lindskog thanked closest competitor and defending champion Maan Nasim for offering his resistance throughout the final day.

Atako-Lindskog fired seven birdies, two in the final two holes, against one bogey for the day's best score of six-under par 66. His 11-under total of 277 earned him the winner's check of Rp 25 million (US$3,300).

It was a fairly even duel on Friday, as Maan also tallied seven birdies on the Matoa Nasional course in Ciganjur, South Jakarta. But he bogeyed three times, and suffered a one-stroke penalty after losing his ball on the third hole.

Maan carved out a four-under par round of 68 in Friday's finale to finish second, earning Rp 11.5 million.

"I desperately wanted to win this tournament again, and I thought I had gone all out for it. But I didn't know that Stephen learned a lot from the way I played (the course)," said Maan.

Sumarno finished a further four strokes back for third place. The veteran carded a one-under par 71 on the final round.

"I was lucky to finish third. I thought I would not be able to finish among the top five because of my aging form," said Sumarno, who finished ninth in his last tournament in Yogyakarta in mid-November.

Atako-Lindskog admitted that he did not show consistency during the tournament, but, he said, there was nothing wrong with his topsy-turvy performance.

"Going up and down is the rhythm of golf. That brings the game alive," the Nigerian said.

He got off to a horrible start in the first round on Tuesday, carding a three-over par 75. He came back the next day with a course record 63, but fell to a one-over par 73 in the third round.

"I avoided being too idle or too aggressive today. I just followed Maan's lead," Atako-Lindskog said.

Jerome Delariarte was the tournament's best amateur player, finishing fifth with a two-under par 286, one stroke behind Indonesia's top finisher, Kasyadi.

Kasyadi, fresh off victories in Surabaya and Yogyakarta, blamed his disappointing performance on his poor putting.

"My putting remained unsatisfactory. It was not my lucky day," he grumbled. (yan)

Leading final scores (a-denotes amateur): 277 - Stephen Atako-Lindskog (75-63-73-66) 280 - Maan Nasim (73-69-70-68) 284 - Sumarno (72-71-70-71) 285 - Kasyadi (71-68-73-73) 286 - a-Jerome Delariarte (73-72-73-68) 288 - a-Sarmilih (76-68-69-75) 289 - Sukamdi (71-72-73-73) 290 - Sanusi (74-71-72-73) 291 - Abraham (74-72-75-70), Burhan Bora (71-74-71-75)