Cuello falters with 73, settles for joint 4th

Rodrigo Cuello failed to endure the pressure and blew a two-shot lead as he closed out with a one-over par 73 yesterday for joint fourth in the $200,000 Hero Masters golf tournament in New Delhi, India.

It was a big letdown for the soft-spoken Filipino shotmaker who had looked forward to a successful stint here after surging to a two-shot lead on a final-hole eagle at the DLF Golf and Country Club course in the third round Saturday.

But his bid for the top $32,000 purse and an end to a three-year title drought in the Asian PGA Tour simply fizzled out as he failed to flash the form that netted him a 63 and a 67 in the second and third rounds.

Cuello, who is expected to lead this week’s Konica-UBX Open cast at Wack Wack, settled for fourth with a 275 aggregate ($9,000), five shots behind the winning 270 of local bet Arjun Atwal, who fired a six-under par 66 to beat England’s Simon Dyson, carding a 67, by two strokes. American Andrew Pitts shot a 69 to place third at 273, while Scott Kammann also had a 69 to tie the 40-year-old Cuello, who won the Omega PGA Tour Championship in Hong Kong in 1997.

Over in Japan, Jennifer Rosales matched par 72 at the Seta Golf Club’s north course and finished in joint 30th in the LPGA Tour’s Mizuno Classic won by Lorie Kane via playoff.

Rosales, who carded 70s in the first two rounds, had a four-under 212 aggregate for the 54-hole event and took home $6,264.

Kane won the top purse of $127,000 as she nipped Sophie Gustaffson with a birdie in the first playoff hole. Kane closed out with a 66 to tie Gustaffson, who had a 69, at 204.