By Rahul Banerji
The musical chairs on the Golconda Masters leader-board continued for a third straight day with Gurgaon’s Veer Ahlawat taking over at the Hyderabad Golf Club on Friday with a composed 5-under-66.
Ahlawat led the field in the Vooty & Haldi presented event powered by Telangana Tourism by one shot on 14-under-199.
Pune’s Udayan Mane delivered a 65 on the windiest day of the tournament move into second place on 13-under-200 at the season-opening Rs. 40 lakh event.
Halfway leader Khalin Joshi of Bengaluru slipped to third after a round of level par 71 took his total to 11-under-202.
Ahlawat (65-68-66), second and two off the lead at the halfway stage, made a brisk start for a second day in succession as he birdied four of the first six holes thanks to two long putts and two quality chip-putts.
Mid-round slump
The lanky golfer, who earned his breakthrough win on the PGTI last year, then dropped a double bogey after finding the water on the seventh hole. The birdies also dried up for the 23-year-old in the middle of the round.
Ahlawat though bounced back with three birdies over the last four holes that included a 25-foot putt on the 16th and landing his approach from 100 yards to within three feet on the 18th.
Veer said, “Keeping in mind the tough scoring conditions, I would say today’s round was my best effort so far this week.
“I had a terrific start, drove the ball well and made three birdie putts from a range of 10 to 25 feet. I made only one error on the seventh and that came against the run of play. Importantly, I recovered well after that.
“I like the HGC as I’ve posted a top-10, a top-20 and a 21st place finish in my previous three appearances here. Going into the final round, wedge-play and putting will hold the key as it is tough to stop the ball on the greens.
Clarity
“Having tasted success last season, I now know what it takes to finish a match. There is more clarity in my thought-process in crunch situations. I don’t fear winning any longer,” added Ahlawat, who came close to winning several times before finally breaking the victory barrier at Digboi last year.
Mane’s (68-67-65) week has progressively gotten better. He has climbed from tied 18th in round one to tied seventh after day two and now second.
Mane, winner of last season’s year-ending Tata Steel Tour Championship, had problems judging the wind and had a bogey and a double early on in the round against one birdie.
But the tide began to turn for 28-year-old from the eighth hole onwards as he birdied four in a row with the last being a 40-feet conversion. The eight-time winner on the PGTI then added four more birdies to his card to close the round with a curling 12-foot birdie conversion.
“I’m working on my swing at the moment since it’s the start of the season,” Mane said. “In that context I’m pretty happy with my hitting today. My short game was better too and helped me recover from tough spots.
Missing out
“After the couple of early errors, I had a rocking time from the eighth onward. But at the same time, it was disappointing to miss out on three eagle opportunities from a range of 10 to 15 feet.
“I’m well-placed at the moment and am confident of staking a claim for the title on the final day.”
Khalin Joshi mixed four birdies with two bogeys and a double-bogey during his 71 that placed him third on 11-under-202.
Patna’s Aman Raj (68) and Delhi’s Shamim Khan (69) were tied fourth on 10-under-203.
Delhi’s Rashid Khan (71), the 2019 PGTI Order of Merit champion, was tied seventh on 7-under-206.
Mohammad Sanju of Kolkata had the day’s best card of 7-under-64 which featured an eagle, six birdies and a bogey. Sanju was tied 10th at six-under-207 alongside Bangalore’s Viraj Madappa (70).
Venkkat Gautham (69-72-73), the only Hyderabad-based professional to make the cut, was tied 33rd on 1-over-214.
Also read: Golconda Masters set to tee off 2020 Tata Steel PGTI season
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