New Delhi, 08-11-2014

Rahil Gangjee enjoys slim one-shot advantage heading into the final round

Shubhankar, Perera, Rahman and Ormsby on the leader's tail

India's Rahil Gangjee battled hard for a one-under-71 to enjoy a one-stroke advantage on day three of the Panasonic Open India 2014. Gangjee's three-day total at the US$ 300,000 event, jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI, stood at 11-under-205.

There was a four-way tie for second place at 10-under-206 between Shubhankar Sharma of India, PGTI members Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh and Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka and defending champion Wade Ormsby of Australia.

Gangjee has been in sole possession of the lead since the first day and he grinded it out on Saturday to move to 11-under, even as Shubhankar made the big move in the third round.

The leaderboard had a strong Indian touch with the top-10 comprising four Indians, two Australians and one each from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and France.

After opening with a birdie, Gangjee struggled on the greens and had to battle-tooth-and-nail to stay in contention to end a 10-year title drought on the Asian Tour.

“I wasn’t tensed because that’s what most people are thinking. I didn’t hit the shots and that’s what I didn’t like about the entire day. Overall, I hang in there today so tomorrow will be a lot better,” said the 36-year-old Gangjee.

Gangjee set-up a glorious 12-foot eagle chance on the 18th hole but misjudged the line before settling for a birdie. With four players snapping at his heels, Gangjee knows he must stay calm and patient.

“I hit a bunch of great putts but I had tricky lines so I got a bit unlucky today. I’m still in it with a chance so it will be about holding my nerves on the last 18 holes,” said Gangjee.

The 18-year-old Sharma, who turned 18 this July, turned in a strong finish with three birdies in the last six holes to move into tied second, just one shot behind Rahil Gangjee (71) after 54 holes.

Shubhankar said, “I made some tough 10-feet birdie conversions on the fifth, eighth and 13th. I made some top-class chip-putts for par on the 15th, 16th and 17th and finally landed my third shot really close on the 18th to end the day with a birdie.

“I didn’t have a good first round and therefore I was determined to make a comeback. After my first round of 73 my caddie told me to aim for 19 birdies in the next three rounds if I wanted to win. I made seven birdies and in round two and followed that with six today, so I guess now I need another six in the final round.”

Shubhankar, who became the youngest winner on the PGTI this year at the age of 17, feels he needs to focus hard in the final round and take one hole at a time. “I’ll treat the final round like just another round at a tournament and not get overawed by the situation. Incidentally, I have won a tournament at DGC as a junior and will have that at the back of my mind when I go out in the final round.” 

Shubhankar, the 2013 All India Champion, attributes his growth as a professional, to a tough first year on the PGTI in 2013 and his participation on the Asian Development Tour in 2014. “It was a tough decision to turn pro so early in my life. I took the decision after consulting my father soon after I won the All India Championship in January 2013. I learnt a lot about pro golf in my first season in 2013 even though I didn’t have great results. I learnt the importance of not dropping too many shots.

“The 10 tournaments that I have played on the Asian Development Tour this year have really helped me grow as a professional. I’ve had two top-10s on the ADT and the tour has given me a taste of life on the Asian Tour.”

Without having any expectations, Siddikur, who is playing in his first event since injuring his back in June, was surprised to be in the hunt for a third Asian Tour title after registering a 69 highlighted by five birdies. Siddikur won the Indian Open here in 2013.

Playing on his favourite course, the sharp-shooting Mithun Perera, who is the son of Nandasena, a famous name on the old Asian circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, hopes his good form will yield a first Asian Tour victory on Sunday.

Another young Indian, amateur Pratap Atwal (71) may well have been in the big crowd in second place but for his double bogey on par-4 15th hole. He is at eight-under in tied seventh place. Rashid Khan (71) who just couldn’t get his putter going and is now at seven-under 209 in 10th place is the fourth Indian in the top-10.