By Rahul Banerji
Event favourite and seven-time international winner Anirban Lahiri joined Manu Gandas in the lead on nine-under 207 at the inaugural S.S.P. Chawrasia Invitational in Kolkata on Friday.
The two fired rounds of one-under 71 and level-par 72 respectively at the Rs 1 crore event presented by TAKE at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
On a day made tough by gusty winds, Gaganjeet Bhullar struck the day’s joint best of 67 which featured birdies on the last four holes to close the penultimate round in tied third place along with Veer Ahlawat (70) on eight-under 208.
Delhi’s Kapil Kumar also fired a 67 to end the day in fifth place at seven-under 209.
Tournament host S.S.P. Chawrasia shot a 73 while Shankar Das had a 67 to share 13th place at two-under 214.
Tata Steel PGTI Rankings leader Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (75) of Chandigarh was tied 18th on one-under 215.
Yuvraj currently enjoys a narrow lead over second-placed Manu Gandas in the Order of Merit.
Lahiri (71-65-71), overnight second and one stroke off the lead, had an up-and-down day making two birdies and three bogeys over the first 15 holes.
Mixed bag
The LIV Golf star, a winner at RCGC in 2013, dropped shots as a result of a couple of poor approach shots but pulled things back with two late birdies thanks to accurate approach shots.
Anirban said, “It was a tough day overall. As the wind was up it was a good test and challenge. I was a little disappointed with how I played.
“There were too many errors and I played the par-5s poorly. Having said that, it was nice to get a couple of birdies at the end and still stay in the hunt.
“I’m hoping that the conditions are similar in round four because then it will be a battle out there with everyone battling the conditions.
“I felt quite comfortable in the gusty conditions today and that comes from my experience of playing in the US and Europe. I prefer a stern test to easy conditions.
“Tomorrow it’s going to be about execution and about hitting a lot of percentage shots as well as controlling your ball if it gets windy.
“If it doesn’t get windy then you better make a lot of birdies because everyone is playing really well.”
Overnight leader Gandas (69-66-72) had a mixed round just like Lahiri. Gandas was two-over at the turn with a bogey and a double on successive holes after finding the bunker both times.
Manu then recovered ground with three birdies after the turn where he rolled in a couple of crucial putts but then bogeyed his penultimate hole.
Tough calls
Manu, looking for a record sixth title this season, said, “I had some bad tee shots today and a couple of bad judgments and mistakes on my approach shots coming in.
“I also missed a couple of short putts. Good judgment is necessary in such conditions. That’s where I made errors today.
“Fortunately my game picked up on the back nine. I’m going to stick to what I did on the first two days and let’s see how it goes.”
Bhullar, an 11-time international winner, also threw his hat in the ring by firing it close to the hole on the last four holes to pick up birdies each time in his 67.
Ahlawat’s 70 also featured a rear-guard action as sank three birdies on the last five holes.
Also read: Gandas is halfway leader at Chawrasia Invitational, Anirban second
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