Boulet will call the shots, not hit them

Professional turned television commentator Dominique Boulet of Hong Kong will be behind the microphone rather than in front of the cameras during the US$4 million Barclays Singapore Open after falling just short in qualifying on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old shot a creditable two-under-par 70 but missed out on a six player play-off for three spots by a shot.

Jochen Lupprian of Germany, Malaysia’s S. Sivachandran, Ryan Cairns of Zimbabwe, Thailand’s Pompong Phatlum, Ben St John of England and Lien Yung-Sheng of Chinese Taipei will fight it out on the Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club on Wednesday morning.

The sudden death playoff was held over as darkness forced play to be halted on Tuesday evening. An 85-minute rain delay earlier in the day put the qualifier behind schedule.

England’s Simon Griffiths carded a 67 to seal his place in Asia’s richest national Open while Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chien-bing carded a 68 to finish second.

Boulet quit professional golf in 2002 after a 13-year career but decided to tee it up in the qualifier “for a bit of fun.” He made a run at the lead on the back nine with three birdies but three missed opportunities from within 15 feet saw him fall just short.

“I am playing better golf than ever from tee to green,” said Boulet, who recently qualified for the UBS Hong Kong Open later this month.

Boulet will be joining Alan Wilkins and guest commentator Ian Baker-Finch, the former British Open champion who works for CBS television, to describe 18 hours of live action for viewers of ESPN Star Sports.

“It looks as if I have missed out so there will be no difficult decision for me – I will be working for television,” said Boulet. “Alan Wilkins is great to work with – he makes my job easy. And I am looking forward to working with Baker-Finch.”

Griffiths, playing in his second year on the Asian Tour, stormed through his second nine in 32 to seal top spot in the qualifiers. “I played in the dark for the last three holes to get through, so maybe I should be playing more in the dark. I played four under in the back nine, I was happy with that. I’ve got to play well in the event now. There’s no point in qualifying and then missing the cut.”

Asian Tour veterans Scott Taylor of the United States and Ahmad Dan Bateman of Canada used their vast experience to shoot matching 68s and qualify on Monday.

The duo were joined by Thai teenager Pavit Tangkamolprasert, reigning Philippine Amateur Open champion Anthony Fernando and Australian Nathan Uebergang who headed the 103-player field with 67s.

Leading Scores:
67: Simon GRIFFITHS (Eng)
68: LIN Chien-bing (Tpe)
(The above two players qualified for the Barclays Singapore Open)
69: Pornpong PHATLUM (Tha), Jochen LUPPRIAN (Ger), S. Sivachandran (Mas), Ryan CAIRNS (Zim), Ben St JOHN (Eng), LIEN Yung-Sheng (Tpe)
(These six players will play for three spots in a play-off on Wednesday morning)

October 30 , 2007

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