Steady Jaibir hits the front at Delhi NCR Cup

 

 

 

The golfer from Bangalore was two shots ahead of state team-mates Yashas Chandra and IL Aalaap with a 54-hole total of 3-over 219.

Shubham Narain was fourth at 222 while Amir Khan was fifth at 224. Overnight leader Vinay Kumar Yadav shot a forgettable 8-over par to slip to the tied-sixth position along with Tapendra Ghai. Yuvraj Sandhu and Shiv Naren Srinivasan were tied for the eighth position.

Jaibir had an eventful front nine where he began with a birdie on the par-5 opener. However two bogeys one each on the third and sixth was followed by a birdie on the par-5 eighth to be even par. With a bogey on the finishing hole of his front nine, Jaibir took the turn at 1-over. The return journey saw the golfer, who had an enlightening experience playing in the Thailand Amateur Open a few months ago, kept his cool on the back-nine, making eight pars and a birdie on the par-5 14th to turn in a level par card for the day.

It was a disastrous day for international golfers, especially from Thailand, UAE, Scotland, who went out of contention on the brutal golf course, where fairways are narrow and greens difficult to read.  

 

Third-round scores:

219 Jaibir Singh (74, 73, 72)

221 Yashas Chandra (76, 72, 73), Aalaap I L (73, 77, 71)

222 Shubham Narain (75, 74, 73)

224 Amir Khan (77, 75, 72)

226 Vinay Kumar Yadav (76, 70, 80), Tapendra Ghai (75, 77, 74)

228 Yuvraj Sandhu (75, 78, 75), Shivnaren Srinivasan (78, 77, 73); 229 Varun Parikh (78, 74, 77), 229 Anant Ahlawat (75, 78, 76), Manav Bais (75, 79, 75), Harimohan Singh (79, 76, 74), Ajay Kumar Bharati (80, 76, 73)

 

 

Panuwat holds on to lead

 

 

Overnight leader Panuwat Muenlek of Thailand maintained his lead at the halfway stage of the PGM Darulaman Championship after shooting a three-under-par 69 yesterday in Jitra, Kedah, Malaysia.

 The 30-year-old Thai stayed in front of the chasing pack with a 10-under-par 134 total to lead by two shots over Danny Masrin of Indonesia, who matched his efforts for the day with a 69, at the Darulaman Golf and Country Club.

 American John Michael O’Toole and local hotshot Gavin Green shared third place on matching 137s following rounds of 68 and 69 respectively at the RM200,000 (approximately US$46,600) Asian Development Tour event.

 Local duo Airil Rizman Zahari (67) and Irfan Yusoff (69) settled a further shot back in fifth while American Nick Sherwood (72), Thai duo Chanat Sakulpolphaisan (72) and Nitithorn Thippong (70) shared seventh on 139 at the PGM Darulaman Championship.

Panuwat, chasing for a second victory on the region’s burgeoning Tour, lamented his poor approach shots but took pride in his commendable round where he amassed 28 putts to stay atop the leaderboard.

 “My iron-play was not as good as yesterday. I wasn’t able to hit it as close as I did yesterday but my putting was still good. The pin positions were tougher today I thought so I am pleased with how I played,” said Panuwat, whose longest putt of the day came on the 16 where he sank a 25-footer for par.

 Panuwat, who started from the 10, was even par at the turn before he nailed an eagle-birdie from the first and traded a birdie against a bogey on his way home.

 “It’s been a while since I am in contention. I will keep it the same for the next two rounds and continue to play my best out there. I will stay focused and play shot by shot. Hopefully this will be my week,” added Panuwat.

 The halfway cut of the PGM Darulaman Championship was set at one-over-par 145 with a total of 55 players advancing to the final two rounds.