Jyoti Randhawa managed to stay in contention for the title despite returning an ordinary even par 72 in the third round of the Singapore Masters golf.
The Indian golfer is in sole third position despite an ordinary outing in the third round; Jeev Milkha improves to tied 32nd place
SINGAPORE: Jyoti Randhawa managed to stay in contention for the title despite returning an ordinary even par 72 in the third round of the Singapore Masters golf here on Saturday.
The 34-year-old Delhi pro made two bogies on the back-nine to lose his one-stroke lead overnight to be in sole third position with an overall 11-under at the Laguna National Golf Club. China’s Liang Weng-chong and England’s Gary Lockerbie shared the top spot, one stroke ahead of the Indian. Liang carded a 68 and Lockerbie a 69 to tie for the lead at 12-under 204. Despite losing the lead, Randhawa was upbeat about his round and his chances on Sunday.
“Like I said the other day, I am not playing all that great, but I am managing to keep myself together and that is sort of what I did,” the winner of 2000 Singapore Open said.
“Coming in, I dropped a few shots which I shouldn’t have done, but I am pleased to just be one shot off the lead and still having a chance going into tomorrow.”
Malaysian Iain Steele led for most part of the day after a hot start saw him make four birdies in the first four holes, but a disastrous back nine meant he could only manage a one-under 71 and was tied for the fourth place along side Ireland’s Peter Lawrie at 206. Two prolific winners in Asia, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and England’s Simon Dyson, were also in the mix, tied for the sixth place at 207 and just three stroke off the leaders.
Among the other Indian golfers in the fray, Asia number one Jeev Milkha Singh improved to tied 32nd place with a two-under 70, but Gaurav Ghei and Rahil Gangjee slipped to tied 58th and 67th place with identical five-over 77. Randhawa made a birdie on the third, but fell back with back-to-back bogies on the next two holes. Birdies on the seventh, ninth and 10th revived his round, but he then made bogies on the 11th and 16th holes.
Jeev made a bogey for the second successive day on the par-5 second hole, but was solid thereafter in making four birdies as against a second bogey for his 70. Liang registered six birdies and two bogeys and did well to recover from a bogey on the first hole. Lockerbie surged into the outright lead with four birdies and four pars on the back nine before he missed his six-foot par putt on the last. Nick Dougherty, the 2005 champion, made seven birdies in a six-under 66 round to stand four shots off the pace.
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