Thailand's Thippong leads; Sandhu, Bhullar ride tricky course

The final day of the DGC Open is headed for an exciting finish, with the strong left-to-right afternoon headwind and firmer, faster greens offering a thorough examination of golfers' skills.

Day 3 of Test matches is often called the ‘moving day’, when the match begins to swing one way or another. The sobriquet may sit well with golf too, especially on days as topsy-turvy as Saturday, with the DGC Open leaderboard fluctuating with virtually every hole.

Only 11 out of the field of 67 could shoot under-par and there wasn’t a bogey-free card. The pole position switched multiple times among overnight solo third Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand and India's young guns Veer Ahlawat (overnight first), and Manu Gandas.

Overnight leader Ahlawat ended tied-sixth with six-over and Ajeetesh Sandhu kept his second spot with one-over 73, two strokes behind Thippong who shot two-under 70.

The 26-year-old Gandas, who began the day tied-seventh, enjoyed solo lead on the eighth green, having teed off with an eagle and making birdies on the fourth and eighth. A double bogey on the ninth threw him off the perch, while a 12th-hole bogey and double bogeys on 13th and 16th pushed him to joint-eighth, having shot 3-over 75.

“I didn’t hit so many greens, but I got a lot of great up and downs. I think I made almost every up and down. I was a bit nervous, and just tried to have fun. On this course, you need to hit the first shot in the fairway,” said Thippong, ranked 37th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Sandhu played the percentages well, sticking to making pars rather than attempting birdies. He made a birdie on the fifth hole and followed it with a 14th-hole eagle, but the 33-year-old missed a birdie-putt on the 18th that could have narrowed the deficit with the Thai. “I think I putted well. It just didn’t get in,” Sandhu said.

“It was a tough day. The wind was strong, the turf was firm. I’m excited for tomorrow. Two-shot lead on this course means nothing. You have to be patient tomorrow, you have to keep playing your own game.”

Gaganjeet Bhullar, who shot six-under for a joint-fourth finish on Friday, went one-over, good enough for a solo fourth finish. “Honestly, I am just happy to see my name up there,” he quipped after making a birdie on the final hole. The 33-year-old started with one-under, but two bogeys in the front nine and three bogeys in back meant he couldn’t better his overnight position.

“It is a funny course. The wind was strong, and the ball was just not stopping on the greens. That’s why you see bogeys throughout the day.”

“On such days, it’s very important to gauge the conditions early on in the round. I’ve played in worse conditions in Europe so I used all that experience today. I kept telling myself that no one is going to hit low scores, so just keep making fairways and greens and keep making the ups and downs. I’m happy to still be in contention,” said Bhullar, the highest-ranked Indian on the Asian Tour.

The final day of the $500,000 event promises an exciting finish, with the prospect of an Indian win a genuine possibility. The last time an Indian male won an Asian Tour event was in 2018 when Khalin Joshi bagged the Panasonic Open at the same venue.