The intermittent drizzle neither damped the enthusiasm of the golf buffs nor that of the players as the Hero Indian Open hit the home turn at the Karnataka Golf Association course on Saturday.
Crowds grew bigger and bigger as the day progressed as Scottish pro Richie Ramsay who struggled with his cold putter, showed the way as he held onto the lead to move to11-under at the end of third round. Ramsay posted a one-under-par 70 for 11-under-par 202 to hold a narrow one-shot lead over Asian Tour Qualifying School graduate Jaakko Makitalo of Finland. Makitalo, playing one flight in front of Ramsay, charged into contention for a first Asian Tour win as he returned with a 68. Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant (67), winner in 2005 and 19-year-old Panuphol Pittayarat (69) were a further shot behind with James Morrison (67) of England.
With the top eight within three shots of each other, Ramsay will be pushed hard on the final day on Sunday. There are another seven players who are within five off the lead.
The top Indian was Shiv Kapur (67) who brought himself back into the spotlight with a round that had four birdies and one bogey. At seven-under, he is the top Indian and four off the lead.
However, there were as many as five other Indians who were just one behind Kapur and five shots behind Ramsay. That bunch included three-time Indian Open winner Jyoti Randhawa, who admitted he finally felt comfortable at this Indian Open, home boys Anirban Lahiri, who had the day’s best card of 66 and amateur S Chikkrangappa, last year’s runner-up Chiragh Kumar and Gaganjeet Bhullar, winner of two Asian Tour titles last month.
That has set the stage for a dramatic final day. Kapur led the local charge with a round of 68 as he lies in ninth position on 206 but it was local boy Anirban Lahiri who made the biggest move on the leaderboard with a 66 highlighted by two chip-ins on holes seven (25 feet) and nine (15 feet).
Makitalo eagled the par five 11th hole for the second successive day after hitting his hybrid to four feet from the hole. He could have shared the lead if not for a bogey on the last.
Makitalo eagled the par five 11th hole for the second successive day after hitting his hybrid to four feet from the hole. He could have shared the lead if not for a bogey on the last. Panuphol’s patience was rewarded with four birdies against two bogeys and admits that his performance this week has surpassed his expectations. The 45-year-old Thaworn Wiratchant posted a flawless round highlighted by four birdies and is aiming to win the Hero Indian Open for the second time.
Scores after Round 3:
202 - Richie Ramsay (Scot) 66-66-70; 203 - Jaakko Makitalo (Fin) 67-68-68; 204 - James Morrison (Eng) 66-71-67, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 69-68-67, Panuphol Pittayarat (Tha) 67-68-69; 205 - Arnond Vongvanij (Tha) 71-67-67, Angelo Que (Phi) 68-68-69, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 67-68-70; 206 - Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67-71-68. 207 - Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 70-71-66, Chiragh Kumar (Ind) 69-71-67, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 72-68-67, Scott Hend (Aus) 71-69-67, S. Chikkarangappa (Ind) 72-68-67, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 68-69-70.