All-German tussle builds at the top in Hero Indian Open

By Rahul Banerji

With scores fluctuating across the board, two Germans kept it as steady as possible and go into the final day of the $2 million Hero Indian Open locked at the top of the leaderboard.

Yannik Paul, who finished second last week in Thailand and Marcel Siem, who last won on the DP World Tour almost ten years ago were separated by one shot after Moving Day at the DLF Golf and Country Club with Dutchman Joost Luiten not far away.

As Paul walked off the course after completing his round, he gave his fellow German, who was finishing his interviews, a smile and a high five, knowing they were on the verge of a milestone.

Paul (71) was 11-under and Siem with a 67 at 10-under. Luiten, with an eventful 68 that included seven birdies and three bogeys, was on eight-under for 54 holes.

Veer Ahlawat was tied with last week’s winner, Thorbjorn Olesen (66) who hit a bogey-free 66 with five birdies and Spaniard Jorge Campillo (67) in fourth place.

Ahlawat was brilliant with five birdies in the first 10 holes after which he would drop one shot but par the rest to finish with 68.

Tied for seventh on four-under were Japan’s Masters-bound Kazuki Higa (71), Spain’s Angel Hidalgo (67) and Angad Cheema (73), whose fortunes ebbed and flowed through the day with four birdies, three bogeys and a double.

Jazz Janewattananond (71) and Honey Baisoya (73) on three-under 213 completed the top 10.

Rocky start

Paul, who won his first DP World Tour title in Mallorca Open last October, kept his nose ahead despite a rough start that saw him bogey the second and third holes.

The 28-year-old made up with a hat-trick of birdies before the turn and then swapped birdie for bogey for a round of 71.

Paul said later, “With a five-shot lead (on Friday), I knew there were still 36 holes to go. I obviously didn’t get off to the best start but I just tried to focus on myself.

“There’s so much golf yet. I just tried to stay patient. I know on this course you’re going to get some bad breaks here and there.

“I had a few nice birdies and then played pretty solid on the back nine. Hit a couple of great putts but they just seemed to slip by. I’m in a great position and I’m looking forward to playing with Marcel tomorrow.

“Getting the win would be amazing. Such an iconic event here but I think that’s the hard part. You don’t want to think ahead, you want to stay in the present because 18 holes is a lot of golf left.”

Long drought

Siem, whose last DP World Tour victory was the BMW Masters in 2014, did win on the Challenge Tour in 2021 but admitted it had been so long back since he won on the main Tour that he was trying to remember things he did.

“Yannik is a very good player, very steady, he’s a tough guy to beat. I’m not thinking about it. Last three holes down the stretch, that’s where it matters.

“I’m just trying to do what I do, but it would mean a lot to me, trust me. It would be a life-changer, but let’s talk about that tomorrow.”

Thailand winner Thorbjorn Olesen was happy with his bogey-free round. “This is a very demanding course from the tee and also some big greens with big slopes.

“You’ve got to be on your game but I felt like I had some confidence coming into this week. I feel like I’ve not really done anything wrong over the first three days, been good off the tee and given myself a lot of chances, which is really nice around this place.”

“No bogeys is really nice around here. I felt like I played pretty nicely the first two days. Could have silly mistakes but I didn’t make any mistakes today, which was really nice to see.”

Relay unit

Meanwhile, the domestic challenge has been working as a relay unit at the Open and on Moving Day, it was the turn of Ahlawat to pick up the baton.

It was a good day overall for Indian golfers with three – Ahlawat, Angad Cheema four under 212) and Honey Baisoya (three under 213) – in the top 10.

At various points during the day, others made a move on the leaderboard, most particularly Yashas Chandra, only to fall away.

Mysore-based Chandra in particular was most impressive on the front nine where he picked up five shots to move within four of the top despite a late bogey.

The back nine though was a disaster as he drove into the bushes on 10 for triple bogey and then into the hazard on 17 to drop a further two shots.

Other than these two blots, he played near-faultless golf otherwise, especially on the greens where he turned in a putting master class.

Ahlawat (73-70-68) was the steadiest of the lot as others around him dropped shots by the bushel. In the top 10, there was only one bogey-free card, by Olesen (six-under 66) and only three in the top 20.

“It’s important to play it shot by shot over here and that’s what I did well today,” the long-hitting Ahlawat said later.

“The fact that I’m playing at my home course obviously adds to my confidence. A decent run of form on the Asian Tour and PGTI last year have also contributed to the good mental space that I’m in at the moment.

“The solid start set up the day for me. I hit 16 greens in regulation as my ball striking was top-notch. I left myself a lot of 10 to 12 feet putts most of which I converted with my putting being quite consistent.

“The relatively calm conditions also helped in scoring today.”

Further down the order, there were good recoveries by Gaganjet Bhullar (68, and T28 on level par 216), Shiv Kapur (69, and T37 on one-over 217) while Shubhankar Sharma, Manu Gandas and Sachin Baisoya were all on level par 216.

Also read: Paul holds healthy lead at halfway stage of Hero Indian Open