'There are a lot of big Indian names chasing me, especially Rashid Khan, so it's not going to be easy,' says Pariya.
Thailand's Pariya Junhasavasdikul shot the day's best score of four-under 68 to regain sole lead after penultimate round three of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2016 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
The 32-year-old totalled 14-under 202 to enjoy a two-shot lead over Delhi's Rashid Khan and he is now in contention to become the first foreign player to win the Rs 1.5 crore PGTI year-ending event. Local boy SSP Chawrasia, the winner of the tournament's inaugural edition in 2012, came up with a third round of three-under-69 to lurk in third place at nine-under-207. Rolex Ranking leader Shubhankar Sharma (70) of Panchkula was a further shot behind in fourth place. As things stand, he is still the best placed to win the Rolex Player of the Year title.
Two-time Asian Tour winner Pariya (66-68-68), the joint second round leader with Khan, was off to an explosive start in round three courtesy a hot putter. The wire-to-wire leader birdied the first three holes with conversions from a range of 10 to 30 feet. He added another on the eighth to make the turn at four-under. Pariya then had a quiet spell till the 14th before an excellent recovery from the bunker and a 12-feet conversion helped him pick up his fifth birdie of the day on the 15th. His only blemish was the bogey on 16 where he missed an up and down from 50 yards.
"I feel my performance so far is a reflection of the fact that I've really enjoyed myself coming to Kolkata and the RCGC for the first time. I love the atmosphere, the spectators, the people and the food here. I had a better start than expected and that made it easier for me later on in the round. However, the course still presented quite a few challenges as was evident from my even-par on the back-nine. Even a six-shot lead is not enough at this venue, so I'm not going to relax at any stage in the final round. There are a lot of big Indian names chasing me, especially Khan, so it's not going to be easy. I just need to continue playing in the same manner," he said.
Khan (70-64-70), who shared the lead with Pariya in round two, slipped a position to second after mixing four birdies with two bogeys. Currently fourth in the Rolex Ranking, Khan had a 20-feet birdie conversion on the fifth but also missed out on a 20-feet par putt on the last hole that pushed him two back. A winner of two titles on the PGTI this year, Khan said, "I have to work on my putting stroke as I missed a lot of putts which went to the right of the hole. Once you're a little confused with your putting, it gets tough, as putting is half your game. I have to sort this out if I have to win tournaments. There's a lot to play for in the final round as I have to win if I want to seal the Rolex Ranking title," Khan said.
Sharma closed the day in fourth at eight-under-208. As things stand, he is expected to finish on top of the Rolex Ranking, slightly ahead of Khan. Gaganjeet Bhullar (seven-under-209), Khalin Joshi (six-under-210) and Shiv Kapur (five-under-211) occupied the fifth, sixth and seventh places respectively. Jyoti Randhawa and rookie Aman Raj were joint 10th at three-under-213. Jeev Milkha Singh and Mukesh Kumar were in tied 13th. The Kolkata duo of Rahil Gangjee (one-under-215) and Arjun Atwal (four-over-220) were tied 16th and tied 38th respectively. Reigning Rolex Ranking champion Chikkarangappa, also the defending champion of the event, was placed tied 35th at three-over-219.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "royal calcutta golf club, kolkata, arjun atwal, gaganjeet bhullar, jeev milkha singh, jyoti randhawa, rahil gangjee, shiv kapur,")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}