Mumbai: Jyoti Randhawa, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Vikrant Chopra are in the joint lead after round three of the CG Open 2011 being played at the par-70 Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC). The three golfers are tied at 12-under 198.
Rashid Khan, the second round joint leader, is in fourth place with the next best total of 11-under 199.
Three-time Indian Open champion Jyoti Randhawa (67-65-66) had a great time on the front nine as he made four birdies (first, third, fourth and fifth) thanks to some accurate hitting. The Gurgaon-based professional sank a 20-feet birdie putt on the third. Randhawa was even par on the back nine since he made a bogey on the 14th and a birdie on the 18th. The 39-year-old thus posted a four under 66 to rise from overnight tied fourth place to the top of the leaderboard.
“I’ll attribute today’s solid round to great course management and good swinging of the club. My confidence was high since I was swinging well and that resulted in some good hitting. However, I could’ve fared better on the back nine where I only managed to play par. I’m looking forward to finishing well at this venue since I won my first tournament as a professional at this very course back in 1996,” said Randhawa.
Vikrant Chopra (65-67-66) of Delhi also shot a four under 66 on Friday and climbed from overnight tied fourth place to joint first. Chopra, who has had four top-10s on the Aircel PGTI in 2011 and is currently placed 13th in the Rolex Rankings, made five birdies against a bogey in round three. He sank a 20-footer for birdie on the 16th and converted some crucial birdie putts from a distance of 10 feet.
Vikrant said, “My putting was spot-on today. I knocked down all putts from a range of 10 to 12 feet. I’ve been playing well over the last few weeks since I’m sticking to my process and strategy. I’m currently feeling good about all aspects of my game. I’ll look to approach the final round with a mix of caution and aggression. I’ll play aggressively wherever possible and will be conservative when the situation demands it.”
Kapurthala’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (66-65-67) improved from his overnight third place to joint first as a result of his three under 67 in the third round. Bhullar had a fabulous run of four birdies on the first six holes (first, third, fourth and sixth). He then made bogeys on the 13th and 15th before picking up his last birdie of the day on the 18th. Gaganjeet collected birdies on three out of four par-5 holes courtesy his solid hitting. Rashid Khan (67-62-70) of Delhi, who equaled the course record of 62 in round two, fired an even par 70 on day three to be placed fourth at 11 under 199.
Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee is fifth at nine under 201 while the Delhi trio of Chiragh Kumar, Ali Sher and Shamim Khan share sixth place at seven under 203 along with Gurgaon-based Digvijay Singh.
