Shamim Khan opens up two-shot lead in round three

AHMEDABAD, NOV 30

 Shamim Khan of Delhi opened up a two-shot lead at 11-under-205 to emerge as the title favourite after round three of the Kensville Open 2019 Presented by TATA Steel PGTI, a Rs. 40 lakh event, being played at the Kensville Golf & Country Club near Ahmedabad.

 Shamim struck a steady one-under-71 in windy conditions not ideal for scoring. Khan thus continued at the top of the leaderboard for the third consecutive day.

 Pune-based Udayan Mane, a winner on the TATA Steel PGTI earlier this year, too fired a 71 to move up one spot into tied second place at nine-under-207. Kolkata’s Sunit Chowrasia, the overnight joint leader, dropped to tied second after a round of 73 on Saturday.

 Shamim Khan (66-68-71), the joint halfway leader, raced into the sole lead after a determined effort in tough conditions. Shamim, a 14-time winner on the TATA Steel PGTI, made a couple of quality chip-putts for par on the front-nine before earning his first birdie of the day with a 35-feet conversion on the 11th.

Khan then set-up a tap-in birdie on the 15th but conceded his only bogey of the day on the very next hole after finding the bunker. 

The 41-year-old Shamim, said, “I played percentage golf today. The wind made it difficult to score birdies but I was in control of my round thanks to some good hitting. A couple of accurate chip shots on the front-nine made sure that I did not leave myself any tough par-saves.

 “It’s not been the best of seasons as per my standards so I’m looking to turn the tide with a win now,” added Khan, who won his last title one year back.

 Udayan Mane (69-67-71) also made two birdies and a bogey on day three. Mane and Shamim are only among five players who have shot three sub-par rounds so far this week. Udayan’s resolute effort saw him find 13 out of 14 fairways and 17 greens in regulation out of 18. Mane struggled with his putting though as he had 35 putts.

 The 28-year-old Udayan, said, “I created a number of chances with my clean hitting but it was a day of missed opportunities on the greens. A better putting performance on the final day will definitely put me in contention.”  

 Sunit Chowrasia (67-67-73), like Udayan, had a forgettable day with the putter, following two brilliant rounds of 67. Sunit, the nephew of Indian golf legend SSP Chawrasia, mixed three birdies with four bogeys on a day he made three three-putts. The 25-year-old, searching for his maiden title, also made his third chip-in of the week, for par on the 13th.

 Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah fired four straight birdies during his round of 70 that placed him tied fourth at six-under-210 along with Delhi’s Arjun Prasad who turned in a card of 74 on Saturday.

 Chennai youngster Shivnaren Srinivasan shot the third day’s best score of four-under-68 to move into tied ninth place at three-under-213.

 Ahmedabad-based amateur Jay Pandya closed the day in tied 26th at one-over-217.

 Anshul Patel, the other Ahmedabad-based amateur who made the cut, ended round three in tied 37th at four-over-220 along with defending champion Tapy Ghai of Gurugram.

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