Aman Raj powers to third round lead at Tour Championship

By Rahul Banerji

Patna Golf Club’s Aman Raj soared into the lead in the Rs 1.5 crore, Tata Steel PGTI Tour Championship with the day’s best card of 9-under par 63 at Jamshedpur on Friday.

Boosted by his recent feat of retaining an Asian Tour card, Aman rode an eagle and seven birdies in a flawless round that out him one shot ahead of the chasing pack that included Indian Open winner S.S.P. Chawrasia and Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja.

The 24-year-old, a winner on the PGTI last year and an Asian Tour regular this year, was on 22-under-194 with Chawrasia (65) and Thangaraja (66) breathing down his neck on 21-under-195s at the Golmuri Golf Course.

Two-time Indian Open champion Chawrasia has consistently lurked just off the pace for the last three days and will be a factor to reckon with as others have climbed and fallen on the leader-board from the start.

Aman Raj (67-64-63), two shots off the lead after round two, was off to an inspiring start on Moving Day as he chipped it to within one foot of the pin for birdie on the second and then chipped-in for eagle on the fourth.

Cat in a Hat

The Cat in a Hat, who had two top-5s on the Asian Tour this year including a runner-up finish in Malaysia, then picked up two more shots to make the turn on a solid 5-under par.

Aman, 11^th in the PGTI Rankings, chipped well to within a foot of the flag on the 10^th for another birdie. The 2016 PGTI Emerging Player of the Year then drove the green on the par-4 12^th to set up a 12-foot eagle putt which he narrowly missed.

Two further birdies gave the Patna lad the lead in the PGTI’s showpiece event.

“The birdie and eagle on the second and fourth made me believe that it was my day,” Aman said later.

“I chipped really well on both the second, where I was in a tough spot, and on the fourth and continued to chip well on the back nine as well. After the fourth, I kept going with the flow and tried to stay in the present.

‘Goals achieved’

“I’ve achieved some important goals this year by first qualifying for the Asian Tour through the Q School and then retaining my card at the end of the year by finishing 52^nd in the money list. This has helped me grow in confidence and aim higher. So, I’m in a good mental space now.

“I’ve dropped just one shot so far this week and I came close to making at least three more eagles today. So, these are good signs going into the last round.

“It’s now important for me to maintain my tempo in the last round and also putt well in order to have a shot at the title. I have to be at my best in the final round as any player on his day can shoot a nine-under or 10-under score here.”

Chawrasia (63-67-65) continued in tied second place after a 65 on Saturday that featured an eagle, six birdies and a bogey. After swapping birdie-bogey within the first four holes, SSP’s round took off with his eagle on the ninth where he sank a seven-footer.

Classy finish

Chawrasia had a profitable back nine with some accurate approach play. To early birdies after the turn were capped by three in a row over the final three holes. The two-time Indian Open champion drained a 40-footer on the 17^th where he got relief from the referee after hitting a pole.

Chawrasia said, “My ball-striking wasn’t really up to the mark on the front nine. But my back nine was far better. It’s a tight leaderboard and I believe whoever does well on the finishing stretch which has some scoring holes, has a good chance of winning.”

Thangaraja, overnight leader by one shot, slipped to tied second after a 66 that saw him make seven birdies at the cost of a lone bogey. The Colombo resident was in terrific form as he set up four tap-in birdies thanks to his accurate chip shots.

Pune-based Udayan Mane produced a 64 to be placed fourth at 19-under-197.

Young guns

Chandigarh teenager Aadil Bedi too fired a 64 to occupy tied fifth at 18-under-198 along with Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar (65) while two other young guns, Karandeep Kochhar and Kshitij Naved Kaul were a few shots adrift.

PGTI Order of Merit leader Rashid Khan of Delhi carded a 70 for tied 15^th place on 12-under-204.

Gurgaon-based Abhishek Kuhar fired a rare albatross on the par-5 second hole during his round of 66. Kuhar, also tied 15^th after round three, holed his 4-iron second shot from a distance of 200 yards on the second hole on Saturday.

India stars Jeev Milkha Singh (71) and Jyoti Randhawa (72) were tied 25^th with identical totals of 10-under-206.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, the other big name in the field, slipped from overnight tied second to tied 37^th at 8-under-208 after a third round 78.

Also read: Kapil’s sizzling 10-under sets Tour Championship pace at Golmuri