By Rahul Banerji
Gaganjeet Bhullar made his move on Moving Day to join Angad Cheema in the lead after day three of the Rs 1 crore Nissan Chandigarh Open on Friday,
The duo – both Chandigarh-based – were two shots up the road from the rest of the pack at the Chandigarh Golf Club on 17 under par 199, the PGTI said.
Bhullar and Cheema with rounds of 7 under 65 and 6 under 66 respectively had overnight joint leader Yashas Chandra M.S. of Mysore (68) on their heels at 15 under 201.
Gurgaon-based Dhruv Sheoran produced the day’s best of 64 to jump 10 places to fourth on 14 under 202 while Jeev Milkha Singh struck a 72 to be tied 33rd on 2 under 214.
Bhullar (67-67-65), who began the day one shot off the lead in fourth place bogeyed his opening hole after finding the trees.
The winner of 12 international titles however bounced back with birdies on the second, third, fourth and sixth holes that included two long conversions.
Clean striking
The 35-year-old, who was in good ball-striking form, came up with an eagle and three birdies against one bogey on the back nine. The highlight of the round was his third shot on 16 that he holed from 55 yards for an eagle.
Bhullar, a two-time winner at the Chandigarh GC, said, “I had a shaky start but came back quick and that gave me the momentum to keep hitting fairways and creating birdie opportunities. I had a really good closing stretch that always helps going into the next round.
“It’s been a week of solid ball-striking for me and I’ll look to repeat that in round four. Making crucial putts has also helped my cause.”
Joint leader Cheema (66-67-66) maintained his grip on proceedings with five birdies in the first eight holes that included a 30-foot conversion on the first and a tee shot that landed a foot and a half from the pin on the third.
Cheema had a quiet phase as he bogeyed hole nine and made pars on the next seven. The 34-year-old then pulled it back towards the end with birdies on 17 and 18 capped with a 25-footer on the latter to tie Bhullar for the lead.
Angad, looking to end his 11-year-long victory drought, said, “I was steady throughout. I’m very comfortable with what I’m doing and that’s the reason my ball-striking has been quite consistent.”
Round 3 leaders
199: Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-67-65); Angad Cheema (66-67-66)
201: Yashas Chandra (67-66-68)
202: Dhruv Sheoran (68-70-64)
203: Rahil Gangjee (68-68-67)
Also read: TriCity’s Cheema in three-way tie for Chandigarh Open lead
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