By Rahul Banerji
Japan’s Keita Nakajima shot a Moving Day 68 to double his lead in the $2.25 million Hero Indian Open to four shots at the DLF Golf & Country Club on Saturday.
The 23-year-old from Saitama has rounds of 65-65-68 for an 18 under par total of 198 ahead of Malaysia’s Gavin Green and Frenchman Romain Langasque who were tied for second on 14 under 202s.
Italian Matteo Manassero and France’s Jeong weon Ko were five back on 13 under 203 but all eyes will be on Nakajima, on his first visit to India, as he looks to claim the second wire-to-wire win of the 2024 campaign.
The top Indian among the eight who made the cut after the second round finished continued to be Veer Ahlawat, who shot 69 for his third straight round in the 60s on his home course.
Ahlawat had five birdies against two bogies to give himself an outside chance at 12-under par 204. He is six strokes behind Nakajima but the DLF is Ahlawat’s home course.
Thus far he has made good use of his knowledge to stay inside the top 10 for a second straight day on Saturday, capping his round with a closing birdie in front of a large gallery.
Fellow DLF golfer, Manu Gandas returned an incident-packed 2-under 70 for a share of 13th place on 8-under par 208 while Aman Raj was next best at 6-under par 210 with cards of 68-68-74.
Raj was hit by a snowman eight on the Par-5 fourth and that proved costly as he slipped to Tied-24.
Said new groom Ahlawat, “The highlight of the day for me was on the 18th in front of my home crowd. My wife, my mother-in-law, my father were all there.
Inspired run
“My wife has been walking with me for the last few weeks and I felt really happy seeing her after I made birdie (on 18). The last shot was to six or seven inches, it was really pleasing.
“This being my home course helps. I mean I know which side of the green to miss if I miss it, so that I won’t drop a shot. It was a solid round.
“I hit the ball well, my putting was good. My bunker play was also in shape today. I started a little slow but finished on a high note. Tomorrow, I am going to try to stay focused, try to go low.”
Gandas, who had six birdies against four bogeys on Saturday said, “Today, I had some bad breaks along the way and some of the good putts didn’t fall in, but overall it was a decent round.
“Home advantage definitely helps. I think we should be able to capitalise on it, just stick with the game plan that we already have and see how it ends. I would say my hitting and putting has not been very good, but I’ve been able to manage.”
Langasque hit a 70 after briefly sharing the lead with Nakajima, pulled back by a costly double-bogeyed par-3 16th hole that saw him fluff a first chip and then use two putts to close out the hole.
Green, who was the runner-up at this event in 2017 and seeks to become the first Malaysian to win the Hero Indian Open. Green opened the week with a modest 72, then shot 66 in the second round and simply flew past all but Nakajima with a bogey-free 64 on the third round to get to tied second.
Maiden track
Nakajima seeking a first DP World Tour win in just his 11th start has four victories on the Japan Golf Tour, one of them as an amateur in 2021 during the record 85 weeks he spent at the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking before becoming a pro.
“One more day,” he said. “I will try my best. Keep the same tempo, all the same, just keep going. I feel very confident in my game. My ball-striking and swing has been pretty good this week.
“I had great experiences in my amateur career, but I’m a professional now. I played the Japan Tour last year and a few other events where I played well, great experience. I’ll just keep going.”
Starting two shots behind Nakajima, Langasque birdied the first from ten feet and that set up a fantastic nip-and-tuck battle between him and Nakajima over the front nine.
Langasque had his chance when Nakajima bogeyed and he birdied the eighth, but on the back nine the Japanese star had three birdies against one bogey, while a late double on 16 and a bogey earlier proved to be a setback for the Frenchman.
Solid round
“I think that was the most solid on this course at the moment. A small mistake on the 13th cost me an easy five, and unfortunately 16 was a tough hole. I had such a bad lie in the rough and I chip-chip and two-putt. I had so many birdie opportunities, even on the last.
“I took my chances, and I think this is what I will do tomorrow if I start well. On this course, it can happen, many things, like a birdie against a bogey or a birdie against a double bogey and then that’s three shots.
“Keita was very solid today, he played well. If he gets this rhythm tomorrow it’s going to be tough to reach him, but I will do my best to start the round well, put pressure on him, seeing me back there. It can go quickly.”
Green birdied holes five and six and chipped in for eagle at eight before making the turn with another birdie to total 31 on the front side of the course.
He then reeled off birdies on 15, 17 and 18 to force his way into the equation, continuing a fine run at the venue that also saw him finish in the top 10 last year.
Green said, “It was a solid round. Lots of fairways, gave myself lots of luck and made some putts. That’s the difference, you’ve got to hit fairways out here. It’s intimidating off the tee. I felt like today was a nice step in the right direction. It was just a solid day.”
Also read: Nakajima takes two-shot lead at Hero Indian Open, Ahlawat sixth
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