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AFTER struggling through the front nine, New Zealander Mark Brown enjoyed a fine finish to his round at DLF Golf and Country Club to lift his second title in as many weeks with a three-stroke victory at the Johnnie Walker Classic.

Brown was four strokes behind Taichiro Kiyota with seven holes to play on the 7,156-yard Arnold Palmer-designed lay-out near Delhi, but fired four consecutive birdies to overtake the littleknown Japanese player.

The Kiwi missed a short birdie putt at the 17th but closed his round in style with his seventh birdie to finish with a five-under 67 and an 18-under-par 270 total.

Kiyota, who was attempting to become only the second Japanese player after Isao Aoki to win on the European Tour, shot 71 to finish in a three-way tie for second with Australians Scott Strange (67) and Greg Chalmers (68).

Graeme Storm was the top British player after carding a 69 to finish in a three-way tie for fifth on 14-under 274 with local favourite Shiv Kapur (68) and Sweden's Johan Edfors (65).

A winner at the Asian Tour's SAIL Open in nearby Noida a week ago, Brown began the day one stroke behind Kiyota but looked to have fallen out of contention.

I played terribly on the front side,'' said the 33-year-old from Wellington.

I don't think I hit a fairway or green and got to the 10th and said to myself let's have a solid nine holes'. The rest was a dream.'' With Kiyota faltering with bogeys on the 13th and 17th and Strange bogeying the final two holes after briefly taking the lead, Brown took full advantage.

There were still some nervous moments as he saw his short birdie putt at the 17th lip out before playing what he initially thought was a dreadful approach at the final hole.

Brown turned away in disgust after making the shot but it narrowly cleared the water hazard, allowing him to two-putt for birdie.

It's the worst shot I've hit since I was 14! Totally out of the heel and so thin and I thought it was in the water,'' he said.

But luckily I had plenty of club with a six iron and it must have just scraped over.'' Having taken a three-year break from professional golf before resuming his career on the Asian Tour last year, Brown was delighted to secure a cheque for 276,387 euros and a full exemption on the European Tour.

It's a dream come true. I've worked really hard the last year and a half and my coach, Mal Tongue, has been a tremendous support in my career.

It's been a blur in the last two weeks,'' he added.

Kiyota was understandably disappointed to have missed out on his first win on either the European or Asian Tours but the Japanese player felt that he had learned a lot from the experience.

10:00am Monday 3rd March 2008

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