By Rahul Banerji
Nine birdies did very nicely for Gaganjeet Bhullar to give him a share of third place after 54 holes at the St Andrews Bay Championship on Saturday.
On a day players overpowered the Sam Torrance-designed course at Fairmont St Andrews on the Asian Tour’s International Series, as many as 10 eagles were recorded adding to a string of low scores.
Bhullar was two shots behind third-day leader Turk Petit on 15 under par 201 (69-67-65) alongside Mito Pereira of Chile and South Africa’s Jaco Ahlers with Australian Matt Jones holding sole second place on 16 under 200.
At the top, Petit brought in a bogey-free 10 under 62 that had eight birdies and an eagle and fell one short of the course record. Ajeetesh Sandhu almost matched him with 10 birdies, but two dropped shots blotted his card somewhat.
It was an impressive run by a clutch of Indians on Moving Day.
Behind Bhullar, two others were in the top 10, Sandhu (70-68-64) tied for sixth on 14-under 202 while first round co-leader Anirban Lahiri shot a 67 for a share of 10th place to follow cards of 66 and 71.
Two-time Indian Open winner Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia was tied for 27th on 8 under 208, Veer Ahlawat was T36 on 209, Viraj Madappa T43 on 211, Rahil Gangjee shared 49th on 4 under 212 and Rashid was T65.
Bhullar who has not had the best of seasons so far was pleased to be in contention.
Smooth sailing
“It was a smooth sail, made eight birdies and one bogey,” the 10-time Asian Tour winner said.
“I actually got off to a really good start. Ended up hitting 16 greens in regulation today and the first 15 were all greens in regulation, missed only one fairway today.
“It was a class act. You know, it was the way I drove the ball well, the way I putted, I was quite proud of myself.
“Actually, the last few months I’ve been trying to work on my game. I’ve been trying to figure out my loose ends and I guess today was one of those rounds when everything came together, and the result was seven under par.”
The Patiala golfer had four birdies on the front nine and four more in a row from hole 12 to 15 but dropped a shot on 16 to drop into a tie for third.
Flying start
Sandhu, who has one win on the Asian Tour, started the day in 21st place and hit the accelerator early with four birdies in his first four holes and two more before the turn.
A dropped shot on hole 8 notwithstanding, Sandhu picked up another five shots against a second bogey for a 8 under 64 for the day.
Talking about his third round, Lahiri said, “I think it was kind of even par for how easy the scoring conditions were out there.
“I played very poorly on the front nine, got off to a bad start, had a cold putter, kept leaving myself in positions that weren’t ideal, and that’s where so many birdies were to be made.
“Made at least three or four pars out there that felt like bogeys. So I guess it’s one of those days, it looks nice on the scorecard, but I know I left a lot of shots out there.”
Round to remember
For US golfer Pettit, it was the best round of a young professional career by some distance as he jumped into the lead by a shot from Jones.
The 24-year-old has just three cuts in nine Asian Tour starts this season and he was not complaining.
“Hit it in position and made a lot of putts, so it’s easy when you do that, but man, it was a great day, it’s what you work for,” Petit said later.
“I’m finally starting to hit the ball a bit better. I’ve worked really hard on my putting as well, and today it paid off. So, I’ve been working hard, and you know, the Colorado Open was…
“It’s been about two years since I’ve won a golf tournament, so winning that Open was a big deal for me,” he added.
Popular American Berry Henson made back-to-back eagles on the front nine on Saturday which helped him into a tie for 15th place on 11 under 205.
He said: “Back-to-back eagles today were amazing, and I think it might have been a first for me, I’m not really sure. I will look back in the history books, but, yeah, I love the golf course.”
Also read: Bhullar top Indian at Andrews Bay as Puig grabs 36-hole lead
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