Hyderabad, 27-02-2016
Ajeetesh Sandhu carries one-shot advantage into last round as Golconda Masters heads for pulsating finale
Shubhankar Sharma, Feroz Ali Mollah also in contention
The Golconda Masters 2016 seems to be heading for a pulsating finale as three names emerged as top contenders for the crown on the penultimate day of the event at the picturesque Hyderabad Golf Club (HGC).
While Chandigarh lad Ajeetesh Sandhu managed to hold on to his lead for the third consecutive day with a determined five-under-66 that took his total to 17-under-196, Gurgaon’s Shubhankar Sharma and Kolkata’s Feroz Ali Mollah were within striking distance at 16-under-197 and 15-under-198 respectively after they shot matching scores of six-under-65.
Ajeetesh Sandhu (62-68-66), looking to break a three-year winless streak, carried a one-shot advantage into the final round of the Rs. 40 lakh event as he continued as the wire-to-wire leader.
Ajeetesh, leading by two at the halfway stage, had a shaky start to the third day as he found the water on the third that led to a bogey. The mild-mannered 27-year-old then rallied with six birdies, including four on the last five holes, to end the day ahead of the rest. He closed his round with a magnificent 25-feet birdie conversion on the 18th.
“There’s always pressure when you’re leading and in that context I think I played well, especially after the early bogey. I struck it well even though my hitting wasn’t as good as the first round. I felt I putted better on the back-nine. I had a fantastic wedge shot on the 14th that landed inches from the pin. The birdie on the 15th was even better as I recovered from the bushes and set up a tap-in,” said Sandhu.
He added, “After the 15th I knew I had some birdie holes coming up, so I focused on finishing well. The long putt on the last puts me in a good frame of mind ahead of the final round. I think round four is now going to be like a matchplay contest between Shubhankar, Feroz and myself.”
Shubhankar Sharma (66-66-65), the winner in Bengaluru last week, will be looking to make it back-to-back titles as he heads into the last day. The 19-year-old Sharma, began the day two off the pace, but was soon in the lead with two birdies on the first five holes even as overnight leader Ajeetesh dropped a stroke. Shubhankar holed two more birdies to hang on to his lead till the 12th.
The Asian Tour rookie’s bogey on 13 pushed him down to second place. But Shubhankar came up with an eagle-two on the 15th and a 22-feet birdie conversion on the 18th to stay in touch with the leader.
Shubhankar said, “I’ve started well on all days and that has repeatedly given me the much-needed impetus. After the bogey on the 13th, I told myself that I have to make at least three birdies on the last four holes to be in a good position at the end of the day. I achieved my goal with the eagle and birdie on the last four. The eagle on 15, where I drove the green, really got me back in the game.
“I’m happy that I’ve kept the errors out of my game this week. I was reading the greens well to begin with but I’ve sorted that out as the tournament has progressed. If I do go on to win, it would be great to win back-to-back titles. However, I’m not getting ahead of myself at the moment but just focusing on the task at hand.”
The experienced Feroz Ali Mollah (68-65-65), the current Rolex Ranking leader, would be the other contender in the final round. Feroz, who won the season’s opening event, two weeks back in Kochi, mixed an eagle and five birdies with a bogey to close the day two shots behind the leader.
The 46-year-old Mollah, a former Indian Open champion, fired an eagle-two on the 15th just like his playing partner Shubhankar Sharma after landing his drive five feet from the flag. He finally missed a long birdie putt on 18 by a whisker which would have given him a share of second place.
Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi carded a 65 to be placed fourth at 13-under-200. Defending champion Harendra Gupta (67) of Chandigarh was in 10th place at nine-under-204.
Udayan Mane’s seven-under-64 was the day’s best score. It placed the Bengaluru-based professional in 15th position at six-under-207.
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