Sandhu retains Gujarat Open lead as Kaul, Prasad give chase

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu will take a one-stroke lead into the final day of the Gujarat Open presented by Glade One in Ahmedabad after a gritty display on Thursday. Image courtesy PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji 

Yuvraj Sandhu set himself up for a second successive title, taking a one-shot lead on 10 under par 134 into the final day of the Rs 1 crore Glade One presents Gujarat Open in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Sandhu (32-34-68), winner of the season-opener in Kolkata last week, returned a steady 4 under 68 on Thursday despite a cold putter at the Glade One Golf Resort & Club.

The 27-year-old from Chandigarh managed to hold on to his overnight lead though the cushion at the top was reduced to just one shot, the PGTI said.

Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Arjun Prasad shot the day’s lowest scores of 7 under 65 to close in on the leader with the two sharing second place on 9 under 135, gaining eight places in the process.

Defending champion Abhinav Lohan carded a 68 to gain four places and end the day in tied sixth on 6 under 138.

Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh (75) was tied for 39^th on 1 over 145.

Solid display

Sandhu’s round was highlighted by his solid ball striking as he missed just one green on the day. He made five birdies till hole 11 before dropping his only shot on 13.

In all, Sandhu scored birdies on three out of the four par-5s and produced an excellent tee shot for a tap-in birdie on the par-3 fourth hole.

“I enjoyed a hot start today but the cold putter led to a quiet back nine. Leading despite not being at my best with the putter for two consecutive days is quite satisfying,” Sandhu said.

“I’m looking forward to the prospect of playing alongside my good friend and room-mate Arjun Prasad. I’ve never played in a leader group with him, so it will be fun.”

Kaul made a chip-in for eagle on 14 along with some good up and downs for birdies during his round of 65 to move into contention.

Prasad, on the other hand, produced some terrific recoveries from the bunker on his way to being one shy of the leader.

Also read: Yuvraj Sandhu, Gandas share Gujarat Open second round lead