Chiba, Japan, 23-04-2016
Shiv Kapur in pole position after round three of Panasonic Open Golf Championship
Looks to become third Indian after Jeev and Jyoti to win in Japan
India’s Shiv Kapur (68-67-69) was rewarded for his patience as he seized the third round lead with a two-under-69 at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship on Saturday.
Kapur parred 14 straight holes before hitting back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 to take the outright lead on nine-under-204 at the 150 million Yen (approximately US$1.27 million) event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
Overnight leader Kodai Ichihara of Japan was in second place after he posted a 71 to trail Shiv by one shot while Marcus Fraser of Australia, K.T. Kim of Korea, Yuta Ikeda of Japan, Hung Chien-yao of Chinese Taipei, Sanghee Lee of Korea and Thailand’s Thanyakon Khrongpha were two off the lead in tied third place at the Chiba Country Club, Umesato course.
After making a stretch of pars including a huge 40-feet putt on the eighth hole, Kapur stayed cool under pressure to give himself a fighting chance to end an 11-year title drought on the Asian Tour.
“It is a great feeling to lead in a tournament. At the start of the day, the goal was to keep doing what I’ve been doing. It was a battle of patience for me because the putts didn’t fall,” said Kapur, who won his last title at a European Challenge Tour event in 2013.
“I had a 40 feet par save on the eighth hole. That was a bonus and it kept my head in it so to speak. That hole seems to have troubled me the whole week but I got one back today and steadied ship. From there I played steady golf,” he explained.
Kapur hopes to keep a level head in the final round as he aims to become the third Indian after Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa to win in Japan.
“It is never easy to win a tournament. You have to go out and play good golf. You can’t play average golf and win. Whether it is 10 or 15 guys in contention I have to go out there and play good golf,” said Kapur.
Jeev Milkha Singh fired a third round of 69 to move up from tied 61st to tied 42nd at even-par-213.
Rahil Gangjee slipped from tied 37th to tied 62nd after his third round of 73 that took his total to two-over-215.
At the European Tour’s Shenzhen International, SSP Chawrasia dropped to tied 50th on day three as he was four-over through 15 holes in round three when play was suspended due to bad light. Chawrasia’s total stood at even-par at close of play.
At the Asian Development Tour’s ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic, India’s Khalin Joshi (73-74-69-74) shot a two-over-74 in round four to finish tied 23rd at two-over-290.
Source: Asian Tour
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