By Rahul Banerji
It has become a two-way battle for top honours at the Pune Open Golf Championship with Abhijit Singh Chadha and Kartik Sharma putting daylight between themselves and the rest of the field.
Day three of the Rs 40 lakh event saw Chadha take a one-shot lead over the left-handed Sharma into the final day to set up a potential grandstand finish at the Poona Club Golf Course.
After three days, Chandigarh-based Chadha (63-65-64) leads DLF Golf Academy trainee Sharma (66-60-67) by one shot, on 17-under 192 to 16-under 193 and holding a gap of eight shots over the chasing pack.
The 30-year-old Chadha, overnight second two shots behind Sharma produced a six-under 64 on Friday, his second successive bogey-free round, the PGTI said.
Sharma, 21, carded a 3-under 67 on the day to drop back in a round that featured five birdies and two bogeys.
A shootout between Chadha and Sharma, 24th and 25th in the PGTI Order of Merit is now quite possible as the field looks too far behind to have a say at the finish.
Kolkata’s Sunit Chowrasia had the day’s best round of 7-under 63 to rise 11 places to tied third on 8-under 201 along with Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (68) and Bangalore’s Syed Saqib Ahmed (68).
Hole 5 which was reduced from a par-4 to a par-3 thanks to the wet conditions during round two, was once again played as a par-4 in round three with conditions improving.
Par for the course was therefore reverted from 69 to the original 70 for round three.
Hot putter
Chadha rode a hot putter to pick up three birdies on the front nine from between 12 and 25 feet. He recovered well from the fairway bunker on the eighth and came up with an excellent chip for a tap-in birdie on the ninth.
Silver medallist at the 2010 Asian Games, Chadha, who has played well on the par-5s so far once again capitalized on the long holes, numbers 12 and 18 with birdie conversions.
Chadha has now been error-free since his bogey on the opening hole in round one.
The two-time winner on the PGTI, said, “I kept myself in play throughout and was happy to not drop a shot once again. Besides the birdies I made two par saves from 15 feet on the fifth and 17th, both at crucial moments.
“I brought my experience into play when the conditions suddenly changed with the heavy rain on the last hole and didn’t let it affect me mentally.
“I planned the last hole like a three-shot hole and made birdie there.
“The key to playing the par-5s well is getting your drive on the fairway. I did that on both par-5s today and capitalised on them.
“I was also reading and rolling it well on the greens as I’ve been working on trying to get the ball past the hole.
“On the final day, I’ve just got to do the best that I can do and I know that my best is good enough to win. That is all I’m focusing on.”
Tour rookie Sharma, searching for his first title, will be looking to emulate Chadha, who won the first of his two titles during his rookie season on the PGTI in 2012.
Strong rebound
In round three, Kartik led for a major part of the way as he came back strong from an early bogey with birdies on the fifth, sixth, ninth, 10th and 14th.
Most of his conversions were from between seven and 15 feet.
Sharma, one of India’s leading amateurs prior to turning pro in 2020, then hit his drive near a tree on 17 where he did not have a swing. He thus had to chip out and settle for a bogey.
Kartik said, “I made a good par putt on 13 from eight feet that kept the momentum going.
“A couple of good up and downs for par on 15 and 16 were also crucial as they kept me right up there on the leaderboard.
“I’m still talking to my coach every day to try and figure out a few things about my swing. That is a work in progress but it’s trending in the right direction.
“Looking ahead to the final round, for me it would be just about playing my game and taking it one shot at a time. The focus will be on trying and hitting as many good shots as I can.”
Among the Pune golfers, amateur Rohan Dhole Patil (75-67-68) was the best-placed at tied 25th on 1-over 210.
Fourteen-year-old Australian amateur Aarav D. Shah (69-70-71) was alongside.
Also read: Rookie Kartik Sharma grabs Pune Open lead with 9-under round
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