Delhi golfer Arjun Prasad held on to the Jaipur Open lead for a third straight day at Rambagh Golf Club but saw 14-time winner Rashid Khan close to within a stroke on Friday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Leading from the start, Arjun Prasad maintained an advantage at the Rs 1 crore Jaipur Open but saw fellow Delhi golfer Rashid Khan make a phenomenal charge at Rambagh Golf Club on Friday.
Khan, an Asian Games silver medallist at Guangzhou in 2010, has shown good form of late including a third place at Pune last week and sixth at the Delhi NCR Open earlier.
On Moving Day in Jaipur, he turned up the heat on the field with a bogey-free 9 under par 61 that saw him climb 10 places from overnight shared 12th into sole second place on 17 under 193 after earlier cards of 64 and 68.
Ahead of the wiry Khan by a stroke was Prasad who shot a 4 under 66 at the event presented by Rajasthan Tourism to total 18 under 192 having returned 62 and 64 in the first two rounds, the PGTI said.
Two other Delhi-based golfers Sachin Baisoya (64) and Kshitij Naveed Kaul (65) were tied for third place at 16-under 194.
Early gains
Jaipur’s Prakhar Asawa (70), the only local golfer to make the cut, ended the penultimate round in tied 38th at three-under 207.
Prasad, 25, overnight leader by three shots converted a couple of putts from between 10 and 15 feet for birdies on the second and fifth holes.
He then picked up two more shots on the front nine with some brilliant wedge play, one of which landed a foot from the pin.
Two missed putts from short range that led to bogeys on holes 9 and 13 to dent Prasad’s momentum. He also saw Rashid pull level playing two groups ahead but bounced back with an exceptional tee shot and second shot for birdie on the par-5 17th to regain the sole lead.
“I just kept following the same game plan as the previous two days. My hitting was decent as it gave me a lot of birdie chances,” Prasad said.
“After a superb front nine, I’m glad I could keep the momentum going on the way back where I was quite steady despite the birdies drying up.
“My wedge play stood out today as I made some good par saves with a couple of accurate chip shots and a great bunker shot. I’m quite happy with the way I’m playing at the moment. The key will be to stick to the same approach on the final day.
“The Rambagh Golf Club has provided us with excellent playing conditions. So, a big thank you to the course staff and the committee.”
Closing in
Two-time international winner Khan hit the week’s lowest score to sharpen the competition for the final 18 holes.
He started Friday in sensational fashion, reeling off birdies over his opening five holes, four of which were conversions from between 10 and 25 feet. Khan also landed two of his approach shots within a couple of feet of the flag for birdies.
Rashid, who won the last of his 14 professional titles, five years back, said, “The birdie run at the start really got my round going.
“Had it not been for some really close birdie misses I could’ve gone even lower I feel. I created chances for myself all day. I feel I’ve been in good rhythm since last week’s event in Pune where I finished tied third.”
Also read: Prasad builds on overnight Jaipur Open lead with 2nd round 64
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.