Chinese Taipei, Sep 23 (PTI): Ace Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar stayed in contention for his 11th Asian Tour win, adding a wonderful bogey-free 5-under 67 to get to 16-under here at the Yeangder TPC on Saturday.
Bhullar, whose 10 title wins on the Asian Tour are the most by an Indian, is two shots behind Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, who sensationally holed his third shot from 112 yards on the par-five 18th for an eagle.
Saksansin’s eight-under-par 64 took his total to 18-under which opened up a lead over defending champion Travis Smyth (68) from Australia, Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po (66), the runner-up last year, and Bhullar (67), the 2012 winner here.
Another Indian making waves on the third day was Rashid Khan (66) as he moved to tied sixth alongside Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat (67) and Phachara Khongwatmai (68) and American Micah Lauren Shin (67).
Among other Indians, Karandeep Kochhar (67-71-68) at 206 was tied 15, Veer Ahlawat (68-70-70) at 208 was tied 27, S Chikkarangappa (68-71-70) at 209 was tied 30 and Khalin Joshi (69-70-71) was at tied 38.
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (69-71-71) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (70-71-70) at 211 are tied 46 and Viraj Madappa (74-66-72) at 212 is tied 53.
Overall, nine Indians made the cut, while five others, Honey Baisoya, Kartik Sharma, Jeev Milkha Singh, SSP Chawrasia and Rahil Gangjee missed the cut.
Bhullar made five birdies and was bogey free. He is looking for his first win since last year’s Mandiri Indonesia Open – which was his 10th Asian Tour title.
“Today I had a little shaky start. I thought I hit the ball well but just missed fairways. Three straight pars but then birdie on four gave me some momentum.
“After that I made some more good birdies and kept attacking the flags. My swing feels great and the goal is to try and keep the ball in play. I know this course demands you to hit the ball straight,” said Bhullar.
Bhullar has been showing decent putting form with no three-putts so far and his rounds of 66-67-67 show a level of consistency that could fetch him a 11tth Asian Tour title.
Poom is a three-time winner on the Asian Tour whose most recent victory came in 2018 at the Indonesian Masters.
He made six birdies in his first 10 holes before his explosive finish with an eagle.
Smyth is attempting to become the first back-to-back winner of the event.
He made a fast start by making birdies on the first two holes but then dropped his only shot of the day on four, before rebounding on the back nine with birdies on 10, 12 and 13.
Source: PTI News
