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Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2020 golf tourney: Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma continues as leader
Another Chandigarh golfer Karandeep Kochhar pulls out day’s best card 5-under-67 to placed sixth
The overnight leader, Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma, capitalised on his familiarity with his home conditions once again as he managed to pull himself out of trouble on Day 3 to continue as the frontrunner in the title race for the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2020 Presented by TAKE Sports held at Chandigarh Golf Club on Saturday.
Akshay, 30, played one-under-71 but managed to stay at the top of the leaderboard after the end of the third round of the Rs 1.5-crore event. His three-day tally is 10-under-206.
Noida’s Amardeep Malik, who was overnight tied second, also returned a 71 on Saturday to be placed second at nine-under-207.
Pre-tournament favourite Anirban Lahiri (70) gained two spots to occupy tied third at eight-under-208 along with Patna’s Aman Raj (68) and Gurugram’s Veer Ahlawat (72). While Aman gained seven spots in round three, Veer dropped one spot.
Another Chandigarh golfer, Karandeep Kochhar, produced the round’s best score for the second day in succession as he shot a 67 to rise 12 positions to sixth place at seven-under-209.
Akshay Sharma (67-68-71) found himself in a hole when he dropped early bogeys on the first and fourth, not being able to strike it accurately due to the wind. However, he got in his stride with a 20-feet birdie conversion from just off the green on the 10th.
“The weather conditions were the toughest today, especially when I started. It was extremely windy, so club selection was difficult, and that resulted in bogeys for me early on. On the front-nine I found only four greens in regulation and just couldn’t hit it close enough,” said Sharma.
“I’m generally one-under on the first four holes, but being two-over this time, there was some pressure on me. The pressure only released with the 20-feet birdie conversion on the 10th. I knew I could get a few more birdies thereafter, so I was in good rhythm from there on,” he added.
Amardeep Malik (68-68-71), another two-time winner on PGTI, came up with an eagle, three birdies and four bogeys during his 71 to keep himself in the hunt. He struck a fabulous approach on the par-5 13th to set up a five feet eagle conversion. He also closed the day in style with a birdie chip-in on the 18th from behind the green.
The highlight of Veer Ahlawat’s round was his massive tee shot on the par-5 13th that landed just short of 400 yards.
Anirban Lahiri (70-68-70) continued to make his gradual progression up the leaderboard with his 70 which featured three birdies and a bogey. He also recovered well from the bushes to make par on the 16th.
“It was another good day of ball-striking, but the toughest day for me on the greens. I missed so many putts inside 10 feet and also missed a couple of three-footers,” said Lahiri.
“However, I feel I didn’t hit too many bad putts. I made a lot of good strokes, but had a few bad breaks today. I feel as long as I’m stroking it well on the greens and doing what I need to do, I should have nothing to complain about,” he added.
Among the other prominent names, SSP Chawrasia (70) was tied 21st at one-under-215, Gaganjeet Bhullar (74) was tied 36th at two-over-218 and Jyoti Randhawa (73) was tied 42nd at three-over-219.
