Hua Hin, Thailand, 23-01-2015
Cheema, Rai & Chikka on course to secure Asian Tour cards, lie tied sixth after round three of Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage
The Indian trio of Angad Cheema, Himmat Rai and Chikkarangappa are ready for the final push as they put themselves in a favorable position heading into the all-important final round of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage where the top-40 and ties will earn an Asian Tour card for the 2015 season. The three Indians currently lie tied sixth at six-under-208 and trail the leader Daniel Chopra of Sweden by six shots.
While Cheema (69-71-68) and Chikka (66-66-76) will be looking to secure their first ever Asian Tour card, Rai (70-67-71), a winner on the Asian Tour, will be aiming to regain his card.
Angad, who fired a 68 on Friday to climb 16 places from overnight tied 22nd, said, “I came in with very little expectations because I know the more pressure you put on yourself, the worse it will get. It’s been pretty good for me so far this week. I just want to play well tomorrow and not think too much. I haven’t done anything special before coming here. I just treat it like any other regular tournament,” said the 24-year-old Indian, who mixed his card with one eagle, five birdies and four bogeys.
Himmat shot a 71 on day three to move up one position while Chikka, the overnight leader, slipped five places after his third round of 76.
Abhijit Singh Chadha is also in with a chance of securing his tour card as he is currently in tied 37th place at one-under-213.
C Muniyappa (even-par-214) in tied 49th, Khalin Joshi (one-over-215) in tied 56th and Amardip Sinh Malik (six-over-220) in tied 99th place are the three other Indians in the fray.
Meanwhile, at the European Tour's Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in Doha, Shiv Kapur slipped from overnight tied 10th to tied 22nd after his third round of even-par-72. Kapur, who has a three-day total of six-under-210, is seven strokes off the lead.
Jeev Milkha Singh also slipped from overnight tied 32nd to tied 45th after his third round of 73 that moved his total to three-under-213.
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