Bhullar gains at Abu Dhabi as Lowry stays ahead

By Rahul Banerji

Gaganjeet Bhullar hit his third sub-par round to make good gains at the $3 million HSBC Championship on Friday even as runaway leader Shane Lowry continued to hold the whip hand at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Bhullar climbed 25 places with his third round 3-under par 69 for a 7-under total of 209 and shared 19^th place, 10 behind Lowry who overcame a day two blip to return a 5-under 67 on the day and take a three-shot lead into the final day on 17-under 199.

South Africa’s Richard Sterne held on to sole second place with a steady 3-under 69 and 14-under overall even as Englishman Ian Poulter gained three spots with his 69 to hold third place on 12-under 204.

Pole position

Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal gained nine spots for fourth place on 11-under 205 while four others shared fifth place.

Brooks Koepka had a second successive 70 for shared ninth place on 9-under 207.

The 31 year old Lowry secured the last of his three victories at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational over three years ago but he is in pole position with one round remaining.

Lowry showcased his short-game prowess on a breezy afternoon mixing seven birdies that  included three in a row from the sixth hole, with two bogeys to get to 17 under par.

Lahiri shoots 70 at Desert Classic

At La Quinta, California, Anirban Lahiri shot a two-under 70 to lie tied 70th at the $6.9 million Desert Classic where the cut falls after three rounds.

Phil Mickelson, 48, showed age is just a number, when he began his 27th full pro season by coming tantalizingly close to a first-time 59, shooting a 12-under 60 to tie his career-low card he last returned at the Phoenix Open six years ago. ‘Lefty’ also became the first player to shoot 60 or better three times in PGA history.

Adam Long was second at nine-under and Australian Curtis Luck third on eight-under.
 Defending champion Jon Rahm was T8 with a six-under.

Loose putts

Lahiri found nine of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation. But he missed at least two putts inside 10 feet and another three to four between 10 and 14 feet.

On a cloudy and rainy day, fog forced a delay in start at both the La Quinta Country Club’s Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament Courses by 75 minutes.

Mickelson, needing to play the final two holes in two-under to shoot a 59 missed a 15-foot birdie try on the par-4 17th before holing a nine-footer for birdie on the par-4 18th.

The Desert Classic is the only PGA Tour event to yield two sub-60 rounds. David Duval had a 59 at PGA West’s Palmer Course when he won in 1999 and Adam Hadwin did it at La Quinta in 2017.

‘Lucky day’

Said Mickelson later, “It was a kind of a lucky day for me in the sense that I did not feel sharp heading in.  I haven’t really had the intense practice sessions that I would like, but I felt like all parts were OK and it just clicked.

“Some days you have those days where it just clicked. And the bad shots that I hit, I got away with. I was able to kind of not have the big score. It was a fun day, but I certainly did not expect this to be the case, but I’m also excited to start the year so I was fresh.”

It was Mickelson’s first PGA Tour start since early October and the first in competition since beating Tiger Woods in Las Vegas in November in a made-for-TV event.

Neha opens season with a win in first leg

In Pune, Neha Tripathi held on to her lead to romp to a five-shot win despite a lack-lustre opening nine on the final day of the first leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Poona Club Golf Course on Friday. The win gave Neha Rs. 1.44 lakh for her efforts.

Neha shot a final round of one-over 72 to complete the week in one-under 212. Amateur Pranavi Urs, who at one stage seemed to be closing in on the leader, finished second with a one-under 70 and an aggregate of four-over 217.

Diksha Dagar (73) and Amandeep Drall (72) were third and fourth, while Afshan Fatima shot the day’s best score of two-under 69 to rise to fifth.

Shaky start

Starting the final day with a six-shot lead, Neha double-bogeyed her first hole. Playing in the lead group with her were Diksha, who parred the hole, and Pranavi, who birdied for a three-shot swing. Pranavi, who was seven behind Neha at the start was now four behind.

When Diksha birdied the second and both Neha and Pranavi parred, Diksha moved to three shots of the lead.

Neha steadied herself for a string of pars till she had back-to-back bogeys on sixth and seventh holes. Neither Pranavi nor Diksha though found any birdies on the stretch and in fact, Diksha dropped three shots while Pranavi bogeyed once.

Neha turned in four-over 39, while Pranavi made the turn in even par 35 and Diksha was two-over 37. At this juncture with the final nine to play, Neha was two-over while Pranavi was five-over and that was the closest anyone came to Neha.

Shut-out

On the back nine, Neha stepped up with a birdie and an eagle and though she was to drop one shot, another final birdie ended any hopes her rivals may have had.

Pranavi did fight to get closer, but her three birdies were offset by two bogeys and she ended five behind Neha. Pranavi’s scorecard of one-under 70 was a creditable one and should hold her in good stead in the coming events on the amateur circuit too.

Apart from Pranavi and Afshan, another player to turn in a sub-par card was debutant Ananya Datar, who shot a one-under 70 and finished seventh, one spot behind Siddhi Kapoor (73).

Mille Saroha, who began the week well with 72, finished eighth. Gursimar Badwal (77) and Suchitra Ramesh (77) rounded off the Top-10.

The next event will be held at the Oxford Golf Resort from Tuesday next. 

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