Teenage amateur Veer Ganapathy lines up a putt on his way to a 9 under 61 at Mysore’s Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club on Saturday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Bangalore’s teenage amateur Veer Ganapathy stormed into the joint third-round lead with a sensational 9 under par 61 in the Rs 1 crore Mysuru Open at Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club in Mysore on Saturday.
Fellow Bangalorean Shaurya Binu carded a 6 under 64 to join the young Ganapathy at the top of the pack on 18-under 192, the PGTI said.
A group of seven trailed the leaders by three shots in tied third including Noida’s Amardeep Malik, Angad Cheema, Pukhraj Singh Gill, and Aryan Roopa Anand, all with 65s, besides Aman Raj (66), overnight leader Arjun Sharma (68) and Kartik Sharma (67).
Seventeen-year-old Veer (63-68-61), overnight 12th and four off the lead, made most fairways, sank five birdies from a range of eight to 15 feet and recovered well from the rough a few times with his exceptional wedge shots at what he terms as his second home course.
The left-hander’s bogey-free 61 matched the tournament’s low round by Kshitij Naveed Kaul in round two and Saptak Talwar earlier in round three who ended the day in tied 15th on 13-under 197.
Son of former Indian professional and now coach Rahul Ganapathy, Veer will play in the lead group in his very first appearance in a professional event.
Chasing history
A three-time winner on the junior tour he is now chasing history as he looks to become the youngest winner on the PGTI at the age of 17 years and 139 days, a record currently held by Karandeep Kochhar who won in 2016 at the age of 17 years and 163 days.
“After a great opening round, I made a slow start on day two being three-over through six holes,” Ganapathy said later.
“But I told myself to remain calm and came back strongly thereafter in round two and today. Today I just wanted to have fun and embrace the moment. I hit my irons and wedges well and also sank a lot of putts. Some good recoveries from the rough also helped.
“I’m now looking forward to playing with the experienced pros and enjoying myself in the final round. I’ll look to capitalise on my good recent form.”
Binu shot a third straight 64 to move up one spot to tied first. The 20-year-old, who won his maiden title on the PGTI earlier this year, drained seven birdies in exchange for a lone bogey on Saturday.
He chipped-in on the fourth and knocked in a 40-footer on the seventh for standout birdies and alsio made a great recovery for a bogey on the 17th after his tee shot hit the tree.
Shaurya said, “It was all about adapting well to the wet conditions caused by the heavy rain on Friday. On the par-5s I took advantage of my length and switched to a more aerial route to get the carry instead of the roll. I played within myself and within my gameplan and the short game was sharp.
“I’m excited about playing alongside young Veer in the leader group. It will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure. It reminds me of my rookie season last year.”
Mysore-based professionals Yashas Chandra and Aalaap I.L. were tied 35th on 8 under 202.
Also read: Arjun Sharma aces en route to Mysuru Open day two lead
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