Veer Ahlawat pulls clear of Players Championship field

By Rahul Banerji

Veer Ahlawat shot a second successive 7-under- par 65 to pull ahead of the field by two shots on the penultimate day of the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at the Eagleton course near Bangalore on Thursday.

With a day to go, Gurgaon-based Ahlawat’s total stood at 19-under-197 in the Rs. 30 lakh event while Patna’s Aman Raj had a 67, slipping to second place on 17-under-199 in the second event of the 2020 season.

Mari Muthu of Bangalore carded two eagles en route to his 66 to move into third place on 15-under-201 while Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan became the first player on the PGTI to have achieved the rare feat of making consecutive eagles during his round of 66.

The Gurgaon golfer closed the day in tied 16^th place at 6-under-210.

Defending champion and pre-tournament favourite Shubhankar Sharma returned a level par 72 to lie tied 32^nd on 216.

Clean hitting

Overnight joint leader Ahlawat (67-65-65) was solid through the first 10 holes with three birdies and an eagle.

Two of Ahlawat’s early birdies came from close range, after some good ball-striking. On the 10^th, he recovered from the rough with a nine-iron approach that landed seven feet from the pin and an eagle.

Ahlawat, who was also the third-round leader at last week’s event in Hyderabad, then slowed down with two bogeys in the next four holes, three-putting once and misjudging the wind with his club selection on the second.

However, the 23-year-old did make further gains setting up four birdie conversions within eight feet to end the round with a flurry.  

“I was hitting pretty solid and whatever birdies I made were within 10 feet,” Ahlawat said later.

“I found most of the fairways today and my second shots were generally close to the flag. My short-iron and wedge shots were quite accurate today. I also holed those crucial 6 to 7 footers, which were very important to go low on this course.

“It’s now about driving home the advantage. I will play it hole by hole and not think too far ahead.

“If I continue to strike the ball the way I’ve been doing for the past three days, I believe I have a good chance of winning,” added Ahlawat, who bagged his maiden title on the PGTI last November.

In the hunt

Aman Raj (65-67-67), the overnight joint leader along with Ahlawat, stayed in contention with a round that included six birdies and a bogey.

Mari Muthu’s 66 featured eagles on the par-5s seventh and 10^th. He also sank four birdies but had a double-bogey that still saw him climb three spots from his overnight tied sixth.

Pune-based Udayan Mane and Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S. returned scores of 67. While Mane was placed fourth on 14-under-202, Chikka was a further shot back in fifth place.

Gurugram’s Manu Gandas shot the day’s best score of 64 to take a share of eighth place on 9-under-207.

Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan set a PGTI record with consecutive eagles in his round.

Chauhan, a former winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour, began his day with a bogey on the 10^th before bouncing back with three birdies and two eagles after parring the front nine.

Aditya’s first eagle came on the par-4 16^th where he holed his second shot, a sand wedge, from 118 yards. He then drove the green on the par-4 17^th to set up a four-foot eagle putt which he drained.

Shubhankar Sharma mixed three birdies with a bogey and a double-bogey in his round of 72.

Also read: Aman Raj is early leader in Players C’hip as Shubhankar makes quiet start