Ramsay stays in lead, six Indians with five off the lead
Bengaluru, Oct 20: Scotsman
Richie Ramsay struggled with his cold putter but held onto the lead he
has had since day one to move to 11-under at the end of third round of
the Hero Indian Open on Saturday. Ramsay posted a one-under-par 70 for
11-under-par 202 to hold a narrow one-shot lead over Asian Tour
Qualifying School graduate Jaakko Makitalo of Finland.
Makitalo, playing one flight in front of Ramsay, charged
into contention for a first Asian Tour win as he returned with a 68 at
the approximately US$1.25 million event.
Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant (67), winner of the 2005
Hero Indian Open and 19-year-old Panuphol Pittayarat (69) were a further
shot back with James Morrison (67) of England at the Karnataka Golf
Association course, which saw good sized crowds on a day when the
weather was excellent despite drizzle at times.
With the top eight within three shots of each other
Ramsay will be pushed hard on the final day. There are another seven
players who are within five off the lead.
The top Indian was Shiv Kapur (67) who brought himself
back into spotlight with a round that had four birdies and one bogey. At
seven-under he is the top Indian and four off the lead.
However, there were as many five other Indians who were
just one behind Kapur and five shots behind the leader, Ramsay. That
bunch included three-time Indian Open winner Jyoti Randhawa, who
admitted he finally felt comfortable at this Indian Open, home boys
Anirban Lahiri, who had the day’s best card of 66 and amateur S
Chikkrangappa, last year’s runner-up Chiragh Kumar and Gaganjeet
Bhullar, the man who has won two Asian Tour titles in last one month.
That set the stage for a dramatic final day.
Ramsay,
who is playing on a sponsor’s invitation, said, “I actually played
nice. I found it tough to play with the wind blowing all over the place.
I needed to make some putts which I didn’t. It was a case of being
close but not close enough today.”
“It is surprising to be leading in a tournament with the
way I putted. If I can putt better, then I think there’s a better score
out there,” he added.
Kapur
led the local charge with a round of 68 as he lies in ninth position on
206 but it was local boy Anirban Lahiri who made the biggest move on
the leaderboard with a 66 highlighted by two chip-ins on holes seven (25
feet) and nine (15 feet).
Kapur said, “It was nice to finish with a birdie for
every shot counts. And at seven-under I could have an outside chance as I
am only four back. I was once again good from tee to green, but didn’t
hole many putts and that’s been the story of the week.”
Lahiri said, “Every par I made at the back felt like a
birdie because I felt like I could make anything. I think I’m still in a
great spot because I have nothing to lose. I can just go out there
tomorrow and shoot my lights out. I got everything to play for.”
Makitalo eagled the par five 11th hole for the second
successive day after hitting his hybrid to four feet from the hole. He
could have shared the lead if not for a bogey on the last.
Panuphol’s patience was rewarded with four birdies
against two bogeys and admits that his performance this week has
surpassed his expectations.
The
45-year-old Thaworn Wiratchant, who holds the record of 14 Asian Tour
titles, posted a flawless round highlighted by four birdies and is
aiming to win the Hero Indian Open for the second time in his career.
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