MUMBAI, Nov 25: Chiranjeev Milkha Singh shot a par round and was placed joint third in the Qualifying Tour School at Guadalmina Golf Club, in Costa del Sol, Spain on Monday.

But the news of the day was the miraculous escape of Italian golfer Alberto Binaghi, who was struck by lightning while on the 14th green as thunderstorms continued to wreak havoc on this European Professional Golfers Association (EPGA) Tour qualifying tournament.

The 32-year-old golfer was walking towards the clubhouse after the fourth round was halted because of an approaching storm. His umbrella was hit and Binaghi was sent sprawling to the ground. He was later rushed to the hospital and released with an advice for complete rest.

"I feel very lucky to be alive. For 20 minutes, I couldn't move my legs and the guys behind me said I was alight from head to toe. Even three hours later, I had cramps in my legs," Binaghi recalled later.

However, the Italian World Cupper promised to come back on Tuesday to finish the round. He was one-under par after the 13th.

Jeev, who was one of the few to complete his round, was four-under 284 and shared the third spot with another golfer. 83 players in Guadalmina and 27 in San Roque were yet to finish their rounds.

With one day's play already extended, the tournament committee decided to make the event a five-round one instead of the originally-planned 108-hole event. However, further storms are forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Leaders in the clubhouse were Dutchman Robert Jan Derksen and Sweden's Fredrik Henge. Both shot identical one-under rounds and were eight-under 280. England's Philip Golding was nine-under with three holes to go when the play was stopped.

The top 40 will get a card for the forthcoming EPGA season, considered second only to the American PGA Tour in terms of competitiveness and money.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.