Kolkata, 28-12-2013
Lahiri seizes the lead with a sublime seven-under-65
Chiragh's 65 places him second
Anirban Lahiri shot a sublime seven-under-65 to seize the lead in round three of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship being played at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC). The Bangalore lad’s total moved to 14-under-202 after he posted the tournament’s best score. Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar also signed in a 65 to be three strokes off the lead in second position.
Anirban Lahiri (66-71-65) overcame an upset stomach to shoot an incredible round of 65 that placed him three shots clear of the field. The 26-year-old, who was overnight second, claimed his first birdie after converting a 30-footer on the second. Anirban then made as many as three chip-ins. Two of them resulted in eagles on the fourth and 15th and the third resulted in a birdie on the 14th. His other two birdies came on the fifth and 17th. The bogey on the 18th was the only blemish on his card.
Lahiri said, “Three chip-ins in a round are a rarity and so are two eagles. I’m thrilled with my effort today. I capitalized well on both the par-5s. I started well as I converted my longest putt in six months, a 30-footer, for birdie on the second. I just kept picking up strokes thereafter. This is my best single-round score at RCGC. I was quite surprised with what I achieved on the course as I haven’t been feeling too well since last night and was therefore just trying to get through the round. I didn’t even have anything to eat today. I’m quite confident going into the final round now.”
Chiragh Kumar (71-69-65) produced a spectacular bogey-free 65, the joint best score of the tournament, to climb from overnight tied seventh to second position. Chiragh, the 2011 Rolex Rankings champion, earned five birdies on the front-nine that featured putts from 12 to 15 feet on the fifth and sixth. He also landed it within four feet on the second and eighth. Chiragh chipped-in for birdie on the 13th and picked up another birdie on the 15th to end the day with a total score of 11-under-205.
Chiragh said, “I had a solid start and just kept it going, unlike the second round where I couldn’t capitalize on the start. My ball-striking was great and I kept the errors out of my game. I’ve been playing well as I had a good outing at Jamshedpur last week where I finished in the top-5. I’ll just look to play to my potential in the final round as Anirban has the ability to shoot very low scores and is going to be a tough contender.”
Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee sank an eagle from 45-feet and also made two birdies in his round of 68 that moved his score to 10-under-206 and helped him end the day in third place.
Lucknow’s Sanjay Kumar, the overnight leader, slipped to joint fourth place after posting a 71. Abhinav Lohan of Faridabad fired a 69 to join Sanjay in tied fourth at nine-under-207.
Jyoti Randhawa is in seventh place at six-under-210 while Gaganjeet Bhullar and Rolex Rankings leader Rashid Khan of Delhi are in tied eighth spot at five-under-211.
Rashid Khan is the firm favourite to win the Rolex Player of the Year title as he currently leads Chikkarangappa in the Rolex Rankings by over Rs. 12 lakh and is one shot ahead of him after round three.
Defending champion SSP Chowrasia lies tied 24th at one-over-217.
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