Golf is not only physical but also a mental sport and this was illustrated by Shiv Kapur’s game in the third round of the Gujarat Kensville Challenge here at the Kensville Golf and Country Club on Saturday.
Kapur, who was joint leader with Rahil Gangjee at the end of the second round with seven under par, slipped to tied 11th with one-under and only final round to go.
Everything was moving smoothly for Kapur till a strong breeze took the ball away from the greens on the eighth, which resulted in a double bogey.
Though he recovered on the ninth with a birdie, the incident seemed to have had disturbed him on the back nine. Kapur hit three bogeys and ended his day with a double, making way for his rivals to move ahead.
Meanwhile, another overnight leader Rahil Gangjee managed to keep Indian flag high with his slender one-stroke advantage over Dodge Kemmer and Maximilian Kieffer, both climbing four places. Gangjee had a roller-coaster of a ride in the last four holes, but in the end emerged with a one-shot lead on a tightly packed leader board.
At the end of the third round, his one-over 73 on a difficult scoring day brought him down from overnight seven-under to six-under 210 for 54 holes.
Like Kapur, Gary Lockerbie also suffered a dramatic fall. He shot 80 and from six-under he was placed two-over and tied 22nd after being tied third overnight.
The 33-year-old hasn’t won since his Asian Tour win dating back to his rookie year in 2004. But he has held lead, either all alone or a share of it, once each on the European Tour (Avantha Masters 2010) and the Nationwide (Albertsons Boise 2011).
“I know what it is like to go in the lead on the last day. I have also learnt from it. Sure there will be some nervousness,” Gangjee said. On his plan for the final day, he added, “I’m still going to play positively on the last day, because it’s the only way I know to play. If it’s going to be as firm as it was today, someone’s going to have to go really low to come through the field and overtake me.
“So, the winner will probably come down to the top four or five players, and hopefully, I can come out on top. I’ve been in the lead a few times going into the final round, and I think you learn every time.”
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