Delhi golfer Kshitij Naveed Kaul splashes out of a bunker on his way to the third round lead at the Poona Club Open on Friday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Overnight joint leader Kshitij Naveed Kaul posted a solid 4 under par 67 in round three to hold a two-shot lead on 16-under 197 at The Poona Club Open on Friday.
Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh, a winner on the PGTI last month, matched the course record of 8 under 63 to climb into second place at 14-under 199 at the Rs 1 crore event in Pune, the PGTI said.
Tata Steel PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat of Gurgaon fired an error-free 66 to share third place at 13-under 200 alongside Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar (70) the other overnight leader.
Divyansh Dubey (66) was the best-placed among the Pune-based professionals in tied eighth on 9 under 204 while Udayan Mane submitted a 70 to end the day T25 on 4 under 209.
The 23-year-old Kaul (64-66-67), a three-time winner on the PGTI, made gains on the front nine thanks to three birdies coming against one dropped shot.
The Delhi golfer drove the Par-4 ninth green to earn a birdie with a two-putt. Kaul’s top-notch driving and chipping saw him claim three more birdies on the back nine in exchange for a second bogey.
It was the third straight day in the lead for Kaul, currently 49th on the PGTI Order of Merit.
Kshitij, who won his maiden professional title at the same venue five years ago, said, “It was a near perfect day for me barring the two short putts that I missed.
“The short game was great, especially the chipping. I’ve made some quality up and downs through the week.
Key points
“My good memories from this course are an added advantage going into the final round. The key would be to keep the ball on the fairway and putt well.
“I’m a very calm person and I haven’t really worked at that. It comes to me naturally. That always helps me in crunch situations.”
Varun Parikh fired a course record-equalling 63 in Pune on Friday to climb into sole second place at the Poona Club Golf Course. Image courtesy PGTI.
Parikh (67-69-63), a two-time winner on the PGTI and currently 17th in the rankings, equalled the course record shared by six others (Kapil Kumar, Samarth Dwivedi, C. Muniyappa, Chikkarangappa S., S. Madaiah and Vijay Kumar).
It took the 26-year-old seven places up from overnight tied ninth, courtesy of nine birdies that came at the cost of a lone bogey. Parikh’s round featured five consecutive birdies from holes 10 to 14.
Parikh hit a couple of iron shots within five feet for birdies while he also sank a 40-footer on the 12th and drained three other putts from between 10 and 15 feet for birdies.
“This season my mindset has been to just have fun out there and not put pressure on myself. That has helped my game immensely,” Parikh said later.
“Today also it was about enjoying my round and that’s exactly what I’ll look to do in the final round. Having a win under my belt this season also adds to my confidence.
“I gave myself a lot of opportunities today by hitting my approach shots close and hitting almost all fairways and greens.”
Also read: Overnight leaders stay ahead on day 2 of Poona Club Open
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