JEJU (Korea), Aug 20: A late double bogey and bogey cost Gaganjeet Bhullar as he carded a disappointing 69 but the Indian golfer still managed to be Tied-10th at the International Series Korea.
At 10-under through 15 holes in the third round, Bhullar looked set for a shot at a second title in a month. But a double bogey on 16th and a bogey on 17th brought him to 7-under, five shots behind the leader.
Yet in terms of positions on the leader board, he was T-10 as against T-11, when he started the day.
However, with five shots between him and the leader he will need some great play and some help from the players ahead of him.
At 7-under for the tournament, Bhullar is the best placed Indian.
Veer Ahlawat, who started the day at T-5, had a rough round with two double bogeys and three bogeys against four birdies for a card of 3-over 74 and dropped to T-42nd.
SSP Chawrasia (73) slipped to T-49 from T-16, Rashid Khan (72) dropped to T-61 from T-48 and Shiv Kapur (74) was T-71.
Korean Taehoon Ok (69) will make a bid for his maiden pro title as he moved to 12-under, taking the sole lead.
Amateur Wooyoung Cho (61), Yoseop Seo (67) and Bio Kim (70) are tied for second at 11-under.
Bhullar, who has shown good form in recent weeks, birdied second and fourth to be 2-under and when he birdied 10th and 11th, he moved to 4-under.
Despite missing a couple of birdie chances, he was very much in the mix as he approached the final few holes. But the double bogey and bogey spoiled his card and finished at 69.
While the Koreans occupied the top four spots at the Lotte Skyhill Country Club on Jeju Island, Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai (63) and Pavit Tangkamolprasert (67) ensured they were within striking distance at 10-under in Tied-fifth place.
Ok and Kim had started the third day sharing the lead, but it was the former who had the edge for much of the day reaching 14 with two to play and the prospect of a healthy lead.
However, he bogeyed 17 and 18 to give hope to the chasing pack.
Rising star Cho, 20, lit up the tournament with the best round of the week comprising four birdies on the front and six on the back, including five birdies in the last six holes. (PTI)
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