Rai three strokes ahead in PGTI championship

PUNE - Himmat Singh Rai shot a second consecutive three under 68 to open up a three-stroke lead in the Aircel PGTI Players Championship at the Poona Club Ltd., here Thursday.

The Delhi golfer’s total stood at seven under 206, three strokes clear of Gaganjeet Bhullar of Kapurthala and Sri Lankan Anura Rohana, who were at joint second plce at four under 209.

Rai (70-68-68) made a solid start to the third round as he made pars on the first seven holes. The 23-year old then began breaking away from the rest of the field, thanks to some excellent putting. He scored four birdies over the next seven holes (eighth through the 14th). The bogey on the 17th was the only blemish on his card.

Rai, who has impressed the likes of K. J. Choi while playing on the Asian Tour, will now be gunning for his second professional title.

Rai said: “The putter was hot today. I made some crucial putts from about 10 feet. I also managed to keep the ball in play throughout my round otherwise it would’ve been difficult to shoot a low number.

“A brilliant par save on the 13th gave me a lot of confidence. The course conditions were pretty good today despite the heavy rain Wednesday. The greens were in great shape.

“My aim in the final round will be to keep the ball in play as much as possible. I will try not to get too ahead of myself and will just take it hole by hole.”

C. Muniyappa, Karanjit Singh Sandhu, Pappan, Rahil Gangjee and Manav Jaini shared fourth place with identical totals of two under 211 while Mukesh Kumar, Shamim Khan and Vinod Kumar were a further stroke behind in tied ninth.

Pune-based amateur Aditya Bhandarkar was tied 17th at three over 216 and Anirban Lahiri was tied 26th at six over 219.

Pune-based professionals Dinesh Raghuvanshi (eight over 221) and Gurki Shergill (10 over 223) were placed tied 32nd and tied 43rd, respectively.