Jbe Kruger Claimed European Tour Victory

Jbe Kruger claimed a maiden European Tour victory at the Avantha Masters in New Delhi on Sunday, a day that saw Scotland's Peter Whiteford disqualified for moving his ball late in the third round.

Whiteford, one off the lead at the start of the day, was removed from contention after TV replays of his third shot to the 18th showed that his ball rolled a fraction before he played to the green. Because he signed his card it meant disqualification.

Officials reviewed the matter as the 31-year-old from Kirkcaldy, who led after the first and second days, began the final round and he was given the bad news just after bogeying the short 3rd.

It was a happier day for the South African Kruger, whose final-round 69 was enough to finish 14-under and with a two-stroke victory.
He almost lost his nerve at the end, despite carrying a three-shot lead to the 17th tee. A bogey on that hole followed by a loose drive on the 18th gave him cause for concern, but he rescued par to take the title.

Spain's Jorge Campillo signed for 67 ?the joint best of the day ?to finish tied for second with Germany's Marcel Siem. Marcus Fraser, of Austria, and the Spaniard Jos?Manuel Lara finished three off the lead.

Reflecting on the decision to disqualify Whiteford, the European Tour's chief referee, John Paramor, said: "Peter felt his ball may have moved and for confirmation asked his caddie, a fellow competitor and a TV cameraman, who said they didn't think it had, and so he continued on to finish the hole.

"Overnight several viewers contacted the Tour website. This was reviewed by the rules committee, who were able to determine that the ball had in fact moved. He should have incurred a penalty of one stroke and replaced the ball.

"As he did not do so, he was disqualified for signing for a score lower than taken for failing to include the penalty he had incurred. If he had contacted a member of the rules team before signing his scorecard, the footage would have been reviewed at the time and he would have averted the disqualification penalty."

Whiteford said: "I should have reviewed it. You can see it when you look at TV. John spoke to me before I went out, so to be honest my head wasn't in it from the 1st tee. I'm not cheating obviously. It's one of those things, but disappointing."