By Rahul Banerji
Eight Indians, led by Veer Ahlawat, moved into the fifth and final stage of the Asian Tour’s qualifying School in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Saturday even as local lad Poom Pattaropong led the 71-strong field at the picturesque Lake View Resort and Golf Club.
Poom’s dream run continued as he signed for a six-under-par 65 to stand on the brink of securing his playing rights for the 2019 season. Another Thai player, Naras Luangphetcharaporn, was staring at elimination until his record-breaking 59 lifted him to a share of 36th place.
Sitting midfield till the penultimate day, Ahlawat carded a four under 68, climbing to 18th place overall, the best among the large Indian contingent.
He finished day four on 11 under par 273 (69, 66, 70, 68), one shot better than Chiragh Kumar (65, 69, 71, 69) and Abhijit Chadha (66, 72, 69, 67) were in a share of 20th place.
Close on their heels was Aman Raj in tied 27th place on 9 under 275 (69, 66, 74, 68), just ahead of teenager Aadil Bedi who was eight under 276 (67, 72, 68, 69) was tied 36th.
Amardip Singh Malik was seven under 277 (68, 70, 72, 67), while Gaurav Pratap Singh 69, 68, 73, 68) and Karandeep Kochar (67, 73, 69, 69) were tied 50th on six under par 278s.
Confident show
Said Ahlawat later, “I’m hitting it well and reading my putts right. I’m confident heading into the final round of Qualifying School.
“This is my third attempt at QSchool. I’ll be looking to apply my experience and hopefully, earn a Tour card for the upcoming season.
“I turned professional three years ago. I have a few second-placed finishes on the PGTI (Professional Golf Tour of India), as well as a good number of top-10s.”
The Asian Tour website reported that despite going through a marathon week which saw 242 players at the start of the final stage vying to finish inside the top-35 and ties through five rounds, Poom led the field with a four-day total of 20-under-par 264.
Impressive rookie
Australia’s Zach Murray was also ready to add another feather to his cap as he was among the leading 70 players and ties to have made it into the all-important ultimate round on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Australian only turned professional last month but is already showing an early potential of his prolific form which has led him to be ranked as high as 19th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Also read: Strong Indian presence in Asian Tour Q-School at Hua Hin
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