Press Trust of India
New Delhi, March 19: India’s SSP Chawrasia was rewarded for his consistency as he brought home a flawless four-under 68 to grab a two-stroke lead over Australian Terry Pilkadaris after the penultimate round of the USD 1.6 million Hero Indian Open at the prestigious Delhi Golf Course here Saturday.
On a day when overnight leader Pilkadaris failed to even save par, returning with a one-over 73, Chawrasia continued his love affair with the DGC, firing four birdies in his front nine to take his three-day total to 14-under 202.
A three-time Asian Tour winner, once again showed his prowess in the short game as he wriggled his way out of tricky situations. He found trouble on hole 12 when his tee shot landed in thick and thorny bushes. Standing in an awkward position, he calmly chipped out to safety and holed out to save par from the edge of the green.
“I feel that today (Saturday) I played very well and made some good putts. On the 10th and 12th holes I had to make saves. Those two holes made a lot of difference,” said the two-time European tour winner.
It turned out to be a good day for the Indians as a pack of four Indians – defending champion Anirban Lahiri (67), Rashid Khan (69), Rahil Gangjee (66) and Arjun Atwal (67) – made an upward movement to put themselves in contention in the final round.
Anirban and Rashid were tied third at 10-under 206, one stroke further behind was Rahil sharing the tied fifth spot with Korea’s Jeunghun Wang (66), France’s Sebastien Gros (68) and Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva (69). Arjun was one stroke further adrift at eight-under 208.