Chikkarangappa, Shubhankar Sharma emerge joint leaders

Chikkarangappa S 

Eagleton – The Golf Village, Bengaluru, October 30, 2015: The Indian duo of Chikkarangappa S and Shubhankar Sharma holds the joint lead at 19-under-197 after round three of the US$120,000 TAKE Solutions India Masters 2015, an event joint sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

While reigning champion Chikkarangappa of Bengaluru recorded a determined six-under-66 at his home course Eagleton on Friday, Shubhankar Sharma of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, produced a fighting four-under-68 in round three. Himmat Singh Rai, another golfer from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, posted a three-under-69 to end the day in third place at 16-under-200.

Australian Jake Stirling shot the day’s best of eight-under-64 to be in fourth place at 15-under-201.

Chikkarangappa (65-66-66) returned a second successive 66 on day three to climb from overnight tied second to joint first. Chikka, who was two behind leader Shubhankar at the halfway stage, made seven birdies and a lone bogey in the third round to prepare the ground for his title defence on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Chikka, looking for his seventh title and second win of the year, set himself up for eagles from a range of 12 to 30 feet on the seventh, 10th and par-4 17thwhere he drove the green, courtesy some quality hitting. However, he had to settle for birdies on each occasion. Nonetheless, the five-time winner on the PGTI drained long birdie putts on the ninth and 12th.

Chikka also landed his wedges within three feet on the fifth and 15th to pick up two more strokes. His only blemish of the day was on the sixth where he found the trees with his tee shot which led to a bogey.

“I kept the ball in play. I hit it good like how I did for the past two days and I putted really well. I’m very happy with the way I played but there is still one more day to go. If I can play like how I played in the first three rounds tomorrow, I should have a good chance of winning,” said Chikka.

He added, “I’m a little upset about not making an eagle this week despite creating seven or eight opportunities. I missed three today as I wasn’t hitting the right speeds. I guess I’ve reserved the eagles for the last day. At the same time, I’m delighted that I’ve been creating birdie chances regularly be it from 30 or 40 feet. I’m looking forward to having my parents watch me play on the final day just like last year.”

Shubhankar Sharma (65-64-68), the overnight leader by two shots, continued to be one of the top contenders as he submitted a score of 68 on Friday to share the lead with Chikka. Sharma was off to a flying start when he birdied the first two holes after placing his approach shots within seven feet on both occasions.

The 19-year-old Shubhankar’s momentum was broken as he made bogeys on the fourth and sixth despite finding the centre of the fairways. He also missed a short birdie putt on the fifth. Shubhankar, however, rallied with birdies on the seventh, 13th, 17th and 18th as a result of some good wedge shots.

“Overall, I think I played well. I made a few mistakes at the start but managed to steady the ship. I am pleased with the way I finished as that allowed me to stay atop the leaderboard with Chikka. I hit some good speeds while putting today. I just want to play my own gametomorrow and not think too much. We will see how it goes,” said Sharma, who will be looking for his second title.

Himmat Singh Rai (64-67-69) mixed four birdies and a bogey for his 69 to keep himself in the race and make it three Indians in the top-3.

Stirling, who only landed on the morning of round one and did not get to play a practice round, was delighted to cap his best efforts so far this week after marking his card with 10 birdies against two bogeys. “The putter was hot today, especially on the front nine. It went quiet on my back nine but I still managed to finish off well. I also played my wedges to perfection. It’s my first time playing in India. Since I only arrived on Wednesday and didn’t get much sleep 48 hours prior to the event due to the travel, I’m really pleased to shoot a 64 today,” added the 26-year-old, who claimed his maiden ADT win in Malaysia earlier in June. 

Finland’s Teemu Putkonen, who made two eagles en route his 65 on Friday, shared fifth place at 14-under-202 with Pune’s Aditya Bhandarkar who shot a bogey-free 66.

Delhi golfers Rashid Khan and Naman Dawar and Americans Casey O’Toole, the ADT Order of Merit leader, and Greg Moss, the round one leader, stayed a further shot back in tied seventh position. 

Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi and Sri Lankan Anura Rohana were tied 11th at 12-under-204.

PGTI Press release