Overnight leader Khalin Joshi in action on day three of the Nava Raipur Open at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort in Chhattisgarh on Thursday. Image courtesy DP World PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Khalin Joshi saw his advantage trimmed to one shot after round three of the inaugural Rs 1 crore SECL presents Nava Raipur Open at Fairway Golf & Lake Resort in Chhattisgarh on Thursday.
Angad Cheema put Joshi under pressure with a flawless 4 under par 30 in the rain-affected tournament after the overnight leader returned a 1 under 33 on the day, the DP World PGTI said.
The 34-year-old Joshi (29-30-33), who began the day two strokes up on the field, returned two birdies and his first bogey of the week to reach 10 under 92 heading into the final round.
Chandigarh’s Cheema (34-29-30) climbed all the way from tied 13th to second on 9 under 93 with the final nine holes to go on Friday.
Joshi, a two-time winner on the DP World PGTI this season and 12th in the Race to DP World India Championship, has dropped only one shot through the opening 27 holes.
Heavy rain left the course unsuitable for 18-hole rounds, prompting the change to four rounds over the back nine at the Fairway course.
Seven players shared third place on 8 under 94, leaving eight golfers within two shots of the lead.
Big mover
Delhi’s 18-year-old Pritish Singh Karayat (34-31-29) made the biggest move of the day, firing a bogey-free 5 under 29 to surge from tied 36th into the seven-way tie for third.
Karayat was joined by Anshul Patel (32-31-31), Badal Hossain (33-30-31), Karan Pratap Singh (32-30-32), Veer Ahlawat (32-30-32), Umed Kumar (33-29-32) and Raunil Kukar (31-30-33).
Kukar slipped from his share of second place after posting a one-under 33.
Joshi admitted he was below his best but took satisfaction from retaining the lead on a difficult day.
“I didn’t have my best game today,” Joshi said. “I wasn’t driving the ball particularly well, didn’t hit my approaches close enough and wasn’t able to hole many putts.
“Made a lot of two-putts, but at least I didn’t play myself out of the tournament. I’m still very much in contention and hopefully I can produce my best golf tomorrow.”
Weather delay
Play was briefly suspended because of rain and lightning, with Joshi recovering strongly after making his only bogey of the week on hole 11.
“The rain and lightning caused a delay of around 15 to 20 minutes,” he said.
“I made a bogey on the 11th after a poor tee shot, but the interruption seemed to restart my round. I responded with birdies on 12 and 13, which were the highlights of the day.”
Joshi expects an enjoyable final-round battle with Cheema, his friend and former teammate.
“Angad and I know each other well and have been teammates in a couple of events,” Joshi said.
“We have also played a lot of golf together, so there will be good camaraderie between us. It should be an exciting battle, and I’m looking forward to both of us giving it our best in the final round.”
Also read: Bogey-free Khalin Joshi extends his lead at Nava Raipur Open
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