By Rahul Banerji
Panasonic Open India 2018 winner Khalin Joshi lost his overnight lead in the inaugural $1 million Singapore International but stayed in touching distance at the Tanah Merah Country Club on Friday.
An eagled 18th hole sensationally handed Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan the lead by two shots, leaving Joshi sharing second place on 3-under 141 with 14-year-old Thai amateur Ratchanon Chantananuwat.
Five dropped shots on a day his putter went cold against one birdie went on Joshi’s card while Wannasrichan rode five birdies and the eagled 626-yard 18th into the sole lead.
While the two Thais had a 6-under par 66 each, Joshi finished on 2-over 74 on another tough and windy day on the Tampines Course.
Two other Indians – Ajeetesh Sandhu and Chikkarangappa S. – were in the top-10 on 1 over 145s, while Shubhankar Sharma and Viraj Madappa were part of the large group rounding off the top 20.
Shiv Kapur, Rashid Khan and Abhijit Singh Chadha made the cut on the number at 7-over 151 to ensure eight Indians would be in the mix over the weekend.
Missing the money rounds were M. Dharma, Karandeep Kochhar, Veer Ahalawat, Sunit Chowrasia; Udayan Mane, Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa.
Off target
“My putting wasn’t good today. It wasn’t a good day on the greens for me,” Bangalore-based Joshi was quoted as saying.
“I struggled with the putter but overall, I am happy with the way I’m playing. Obviously, it was tough out there. It’s not going to be easy.
“The winds were up. I felt like I should have capitalised more earlier in the day because it wasn’t as windy as now. But overall, I’m in a good position and just looking forward to the next two days.”
Asiantour.com adds: Rattanon took some of the attention away from headline-grabbing Ratchanon with his brilliant finish.
“The 18th was playing downwind. My second shot was with a three wood, it was a low cut. I was just hoping for a good shot, and it finished 10 feet away. It was a little bit lucky,” said Rattanon, whose sole Asian Tour victory came in the 2018 Thailand Open.
“Today I played very well. My shots were very good. I am super happy. I had one bogey and it was a three putt. Every hole was so good.
“This course is so difficult, very, very difficult and windy. I am super surprised because this course is so hard.”
Hanging tough
Ratchanon, who is playing in his first professional event overseas, shot 75 on the opening day and complained of feeling unwell but was thrilled to get himself back in contention.
“Yesterday I was just sick, I got heat stroke since Wednesday. I was sneezing quite a lot on the golf course, and I played 18 and went to the range for an hour and a half and that was a bit too much,” he said.
“But I had some medicine and slept late night and played better today.
“And it’s not just the score. I am just really happy with the way I am playing because it’s the first time I have played a course this hard.”
Filipino Angelo Que and Paul Peterson from the US returned rounds of 71 and 73 respectively to sit at one under for the tournament.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, was in sole possession of sixth place on level par 144 after a 73.
Wade Ormsby, the current leader of the Merit list, was tied for 10th on two over following a 74.
The Australian is not playing in next week’s season-ending SMBC Singapore Open.
He will need a strong finish over the weekend to hold on to top spot on the Merit list with a host of leading players chasing him.
Also read: Joshi tames breezy Tanah Merah to lead Singapore International
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