By Rahul Banerji
Unable to make PGA Tour fields given his current status and ranking, Aniaran Lahiri flew 13,000 kilometres to play the Jeev Mikha Singh Invitational 2020 on request for some match time.
After a slow start, Lahri picked up steam on Friday to climb into the top five, and on Moving Day, he motored into the top three of the Rs 1.5 crore ($203,200 approx) event with his second 2-under par 70 of the week.
“Adapting to the conditions here is still work in progress for me,” Lahiri had remarked on Friday.
“In round one I was completely at sea, today I was a little less at sea, maybe tomorrow I’ll see land,” he added, and with a day to go, sits two shots behind leader Akshay Kumar on 8-under 208.
Alongside Lahiri are Aman Raj and Veer Ahlawat, Amardeep Malik of Noida Golf Course is one shot ahead while Akshay leads the pack on 10-under 206 on his home course, the Chandigarh Golf Club.
Akshay continued to capitalise on his familiarity with conditions as he pulled himself out of trouble on the day and hang on to his lead in the event presented by TAKE Sports, the PGTI media office said.
Hot pursuit
The 30-year-old, overnight leader by one shot, carded a hard-fought 1-under-71 on a day that witnessed swirling winds but now has a quality pack breathing down his neck with a day to go.
Amardeep Malik, overnight tied second, also returned a 71 on Saturday to hold position, while Patna’s Aman Raj gained seven places with a 68. Gurgaon’s Ahlawat dropped one place with a level par 72.
Chandigarh’s rising star Karandeep Kochhar produced the best score for the second day in succession with a 67 to climb 12 places to sixth on 7-under-209.
PGTI Order of Merit leader Udayan Mane (72) of Pune, Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S. (70) and Delhi-based teenaged rookie Harshjeet Singh Sethie (73) were all tied seventh on 6-under-210.
Three-time Indian Open winner S.S.P. Chawrasia (70) was tied 21st on 1-under-215, Gaganjeet Bhullar (74) was tied 36th on 2-over-218 and Jyoti Randhawa (73) T42 on 3-over-219.
Akshay (67-68-71) found himself in trouble with two early bogeys in the swirling winds. However, he got in his stride with a 20-foot birdie conversion from just off the green early on in his back nine.
Staying ahead
Sharma then picked up birdies on the 13th and 14th holes sinking a 35-foot putt on the latter to tilt the balance in his favour. He also made a good chip-putt for par on the 15th to keep his nose ahead of the field.
Akshay said, “The weather conditions were the toughest today especially when I started.
“It was extremely windy so club selection was difficult and that resulted in bogeys for me early on. On the front-nine I found only four greens in regulation and just couldn’t hit it close enough.
“I’m generally one-under on the first four holes but being two-over this time there was some pressure on me.
“The pressure only released with the birdie conversion on the 10th. I knew I could get a few more birdies so I was in good rhythm from there on.
“A score of 1-under is very good keeping in mind today’s conditions.
“I know there will be stiff competition on the final day with a lot of names in the reckoning including Anirban but I will just focus on executing my plans.”
Roller-coaster
Malik (68-68-71), another two-time winner on PGTI, came up with an eagle, three birdies and four bogeys during his 71 to keep himself in the hunt.
Malik, both of whose wins have come at his home course, struck a fabulous approach on the par-5 13th to set up a five foot eagle conversion.
He also closed the day in style with a birdie chip-in on the 18th from behind the green.
“It was a really tough day for me considering the wind and the flags being tough,” Malik said afterwards.
“After bogeys on the 11th and 12th I did well to recover with the eagle on the 13th. I then ended the round well with birdies on the last two holes. The chip-in on the 18th probably saved me two shots.”
Aman Raj will be the third player in the leader group on Sunday thanks to his bogey-free effort of 68.
Huge hit
The highlight of Ahlawat’s round was his massive tee shot on the par-5 13th that landed just short of 400 yards.
Lahiri (70-68-70) continued to make his gradual progress up the board in a round that featured three birdies and a bogey. He also recovered well from the bushes to make par on the 16th.
Lahiri, who struggled with his putting on Saturday, said, “It was another good day of ball-striking but the toughest day for me on the greens.
“I missed so many putts inside 10 feet and also missed a couple of three-footers.
“However, I feel I didn’t hit too many bad putts. I made a lot of good strokes but had a few bad breaks today.
“I feel as long as I’m stroking it well on the greens and doing what I need to do, I should have nothing to complain about.”
Also read: Double-eagle Joshi tops Jeev Invitational leaderboard
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