By Rahul Banerji
Rahil Gangjee and Angad Cheema climbed into contention with scorching Moving Day rounds to share the Tata Steel Tour Championship lead with front runner Gaganjeet Bhullar in Jamshedpur on Saturday.
Both shot matching 7 under 65s at the Rs 3 crore season-ender being played at the Beldih and Golmuri golf courses to join Bhullar (67) on 19-under 197.
Divyanshu Bajaj (65), Arjun Prasad (65), Kartik Sharma (66) and Shivendra Singh Sisodia (66) were a distant tied fourth at 15-under 201.
The first three rounds of the PGTI’s richest event saw half the field play their first nine holes at Golmuri and the second nine at Beldih and then the other way around with par for each round being 72.
The format will also be followed for the final round with the leading groups starting from Golmuri, the PGTI said.
Good follow-up
Gangjee (70-62-65), who shot a personal best of 62 on day two, followed it up with a 65 that had three birdies and a bogey on the front nine.
Unlike in the previous rounds, the 45-year-old, a winner of three international titles, had a better back nine at Beldih with an eagle and three birdies.
His eagle putt was from 30 feet while he also rolled in two 12-footers for birdies and played a great wedge shot to leave himself a short birdie conversion on the 13.
The Bangalore-based Gangjee said, “Today was about managing my emotions. I’m the only one who can get in my way. I stayed calm through the round despite the bogey in the middle.
“The break between Golmuri to Beldih also helped me calm down as I listened to some music on the way. Importantly, I was in the present and not getting too ahead of myself. The 62 on day two did me a lot of good.”
Clean sheet
Chandigarh’s Cheema (66-66-65), went bogey-free on the day with some brilliant chipping. The 33-year-old, currently ninth on the PGTI Order of Merit, landed it within three feet on four occasions to set up birdies.
Angad said, “My hitting was consistent and I kept it in play and made putts where I needed to. The aim is to play well and not look at the result.”
Overnight leader Bhullar (64-66-67) kept himself in the hunt on Saturday by putting together an eagle and five birdies against two dropped shots.
The Chandigarh-based Bhullar said, “It’s going to be interesting in the final round with three of us tied at the top.
Positive approach
“I made some good par saves on the front nine. I’ve been playing well in the second half this year and hopefully those good memories will translate into positivity for me on the final day.”
Last year’s winner Chikkarangappa S. (67) was tied 13th on 12-under 204.
Tata Steel PGTI Ranking leader Om Prakash Chouhan (65) was tied 16th on 11 under 205 nd is now favourite to top the race as nearest rival Aman Raj was T8 on 14-under 202.
The Patna-based Aman needs to win the season-ending event to have a shot at the no. 1 spot in the Order of Merit.
Jamshedpur-based professionals Karan Taunk (214) and Kurush Heerjee (224) were T56 and T71 respectively.
Round 3 leaders
197: Angad Cheema (66-66-65); Rahil Gangjee (70-62-65); Gaganjeet Bhullar (64-66-67)
201: Divyanshu Bajaj (66-70-65); Arjun Prasad (66-70-65); Kartik Sharma (66-69-66); Shivendra Singh Sisodia (68-67-66)
Also read: Bhullar keeps his event lead as Gangjee rises with personal best
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.