Digboi, Assam, 21-11-2014

Shamim Khan jumps into contention with a 66, shares third round lead with Shankar Das

Karan Taunk trails by two, lies third

Delhi's Shamim Khan fired a top-class six-under-66 to throw his hat in the ring in round three of the IndianOil Servo Masters Golf 2014. Shamim's three-day total of 12-under-204 placed him in the joint lead along with Kolkata's Shankar Das who shot a two-under-70 on Friday at the Digboi Golf Links. Rookie Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur was two shots off the lead in third place.

Shamim Khan (69-69-66), a winner of nine titles including seven on the PGTI, moved up from overnight tied fifth to joint first thanks to his superb third round effort of 66 which was incidentally the day's best score. Shamim had a fruitful front-nine as he came up with a hat-trick of birdies from the seventh through the ninth courtesy two long putts and a good chip.

The 36-year-old currently ranked 22nd on the Rolex Rankings then had an eventful back-nine. He missed a couple of short putts for bogeys on the 10th and 12th but kept his rhythm going with birdie conversions from 15 feet and 30 feet on the 11th and 13th. Khan, trailing for most part of the day, caught up with leader Shankar Das after a magnificent eagle-two on the 14th, where he drove the green, and a chip-in for birdie on the 17th.  

Shamim said, “My iron-hitting has been right up there this week but my putting needs to improve. I've had an ordinary season this year due to a poor putting average. However, I did well with the putter today. The best part of the round was the drive on the par-4 14th that landed just three feet from the pin and helped me bag an eagle.” 

“I've not won a title since March 2013 so am eager to get into the winning habit once again. I've also been a runner-up at Digboi on two occasions, so would be great to finally win here. It'll be a tough contest in the final round as Shankar has always done well here. However, I'll be focusing on playing good golf and will not be thinking just about the win,” said Shamim, who lost to Shankar in a playoff at the 2011 edition of the IndianOil Servo Masters.

Shankar Das (65-69-70), the overnight leader by two shots, slipped into the joint lead after a steady 70 on the penultimate day. The two-time winner at Digboi chipped-in for eagle from 25 yards on the seventh and added two more birdies to his card by landing it within two feet on the fourth and 12th. Two missed opportunities from close range meant the 31-year-old dropped bogeys on the second and 14th.

“It was not a good day with the putter. I created a lot of birdie opportunities but missed out on some relatively easy ones. Shamim is playing really well at this stage and I'll need to raise my game if I have to win my third title here,” said Shankar, a winner of four titles who is currently placed second in the Rolex Rankings.

Rookie Karan Taunk is placed two shots behind the two experienced golfers Shamim and Shankar. Taunk's third round score of 69 took his total to 10-under-206. Karan, the leader in the 2014 Emerging Player of the Year race, mixed five birdies with two bogeys on Friday.

Sri Lankan N Thangaraja occupies fourth position at nine-under-207 while Kolkata's Mohammad Sanju is placed fifth at seven-under-209.  

Defending champion Kunal Bhasin of Australia lies tied 36th at four-over-220.