Aman Raj builds a two-shot lead on Moving Day at Jaipur Open

By Rahul Banerji

Former winner Aman Raj went 6-under 64 to move into the lead with a two-shot cushion on day three of the Rs 1 crore Bhawani Singh Rathore presents Jaipur Open at the Rambagh Golf Club on Friday.

Dhruv Sheoran also had a bogey-free 64, the day’s joint lowest score, to gain five spots and move into second place on 13-under 197, the PGTI said.

Patna’s Raj (65-66-64), who was two shots off the lead in tied third place at the halfway stage, produced a clean round on Friday that took him to a 15-under 195 total.

Aman, the 2018 champion, collected four birdies on the first seven holes thanks to two long conversions and an accurate approach leading to a tap-in.

The 28-year-old, currently fourth on the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking, then slowed down with missed birdie opportunities on the greens.

Final flourish

Raj made pars till the 16^th hole before closing the round with a flourish thanks to a couple of quality up and downs for birdies on the final two holes.

Aman, a two-time winner this season, said, “After a great start today, I felt good about my game, especially my hitting. Then the birdies dried up and despite hitting eight of the next nine greens, I missed them all.

“However, I managed a late surge with a couple of good up and downs, including one from the bunker, on the last two holes.

“That gave me a lot of confidence going into the final day. Looking ahead to the last round, I believe I need to be in the present, keep repeating what I did today and enjoy myself.”

Fast start

Sheoran, tied for seventh overnight, picked up four birdies on the first eight holes on Friday. The PGTI Feeder Tour winner too had a quiet phase like Aman on the back nine, before closing with two birdies.

Sheoran sank a couple of long putts and left himself tap-ins on three occasions.

Day one topper Akshay Sharma (68) was third on 11-under 199.

Second round leader Saptak Talwar carded a 1 over 71 to drop into a tie for fourth on 10-under 200 alongside Yashas Chandra (65) and Sunhit Bishnoi (68).

Sachin Baisoya (67) and Manu Gandas (71) were a further shot back in tied seventh along with Syed Saqib Ahmed (65), Shivendra Singh Sisodia (65) and Varun Chopra (67). 

Also read: Saptak Talwar goes five-under for halfway lead at Jaipur Open