SEONGNAM (Korea): India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu suffered finishing blues in tough conditions for the second day running but still stayed in sight of his second Asian Tour win at the 37th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship here today.
Sandhu, who started the day with birdie-birdie to take sole lead, dropped a bogey on third and a double on fifth and later ended bogey-bogey on 17-18.
Yet his third round of 3-over 74 still kept him in tied second alongside two Koreans — Lee Sanghae (68) and Park Sanghyun (71). The leader for the second day running was Lee Dongha (75) and he is two-under for 54 holes.
In a tournament where scoring has been tough, only four players are under par. Playing in blustery conditions at the Namseoul Country Club, Sandhu had two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey in his 74.
Another Indian star Gaganjeet Bhullar had a series of 18 pars for an even par 71 and he shared the fifth place with Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, Phachara Khongwatmai and Korea’s Dongmin Kim, Junggon Hwang and Jooheung Chol on 213 total.
Shiv Kapur (74) was T-13 but S Chikkarangappa (80) had a steep fall from T-9 to T-57 at 9-over 222. Arjun Atwal (76) was T-68 at 224.
Sandhu, who won the Yeangder TPC in Chinese Taipei last year, said, “I finished off badly and I’m one shot back. But there’s one more day to go and everything to play for. My scores don’t really reflect it, but I’ve been playing well all week.
“I’m happy with my game and there’s nothing wrong right now. I just have to play well tomorrow and see where I end up.”
Bhullar, the first player to win eigth Asian tour titles before the age of 30, said staying patient was the key.
He said, “Staying patient was definitely the key for me today. It was a day of mixed emotions as I missed several birdie opportunities and I also made a few up and downs for par.
“It has been a long time since I had such a round. I remember having such a round in India several years ago and I won that tournament. Considering the weather and tough pin positions, it was a decent round for me.”
Overnight leader Dongha Lee of Korea kept his place atop the leaderboard by signing for a third round four-over-par 75. Lee was swept off course as he mixed five bogeys and one birdie to compile a three-day total of two-under-par 211. (AGENCIES)
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