Shaurya Bhattacharya goes five shots clear at Chhattisgarh Open

Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya dominated the Fairways Resort course on Thursday to lead the field by five shots into the final day at New Raipur. Image courtesy PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji 

Low scores continued to prevail at the SECL Chhattisgarh Open with Shaurya Bhattacharya firing an 8 under par 61 to take a five-shot lead into Friday’s final round in New Raipur.

The Delhi golfer’s total of 21 under 186 at the Rs 1 crore event presented by Chhattisgarh Tourism at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort moved up one place from his overnight tied second, the PGTI said.

Bhattacharya (64-61-61), a winner in his rookie season last year, saw Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja (66-63-62) climb 13 places to shared second on 16 under 291 alongside halfway leader Khalin Joshi (64-60-67).

Sixteen-year-old rookie Manoj S. (65), in only his third professional start was tied fourth on 15 under 192 along with fellow Bangalorean M. Dharma (66) and Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan (64).

Bhattacharya, the 2024 PGTI Emerging Player of the Year, had a quiet front nine where he collected three birdies in exchange for one dropped shot.

However, the 22-year-old hit his stride on the back nine, picking up a further six shots. He drove the green on the Par-4 12^th, landed it within a foot of the flag twice and chipped-in on 17.

Accurate play

Now the overwhelming favourite to win the title, Bhattacharya said, “I hit my approaches really well today and that’s exactly what you need on this course.

“Didn’t have a great start to the season so I’m looking forward to finishing well here in Raipur. I’m carrying the confidence from my victory last year. I will look to continue what I did in the first three rounds. I just want to keep the momentum going and execute my gameplan.”

Thangaraja mixed nine birdies with two bogeys on a day he landed most of his shots within seven feet of the pin. The experienced Sri Lankan, who last won in 2023, will be among the contenders come Friday.

Joshi, a winner of six titles, including the 2018 Panasonic Open India, stayed in the hunt with a 67 that featured five birdies and three bogeys.

Udayan Mane (64) moved into a tie for seventh at 14 under 193, while Om Prakash Chouhan (65) was tied 24^th on 10 under 197.

Also read: Khalin Joshi storms into the halfway lead at Chhattisgarh Open