The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Vijay enjoys slender lead

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Saturday, May 16, 2009
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Sport - Golf

Vijay enjoys slender lead

Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI: Despite missing a few achievable putts, Vijay Kumar notched up a three-under 67 in the third round to have a slender one-stroke lead in the Rs. 20 lakh DDA Open golf championship at the Qutab Golf Course here on Friday.

Instead of providing confidence, Vijay’s total of 199 would give him some anxious moments on the final day as the seasoned pro is eyeing to end his four-year title drought amidst stiff competition.

The 40-year-old was not at his best while putting. He missed a few eight-10 footers apart from a couple of short ones. Of his six birdies, the one on the seventh hole was the best as he gained a shot by making an effort from about 25 feet.

However, Vijay would like to forget a three-putt from 25 feet that resulted in a bogey on the par-four 18th hole.

Eventful round

Ashok Kumar played an eventful round, consisting of eight birdies and four bogies, to improve his position from tied-fifth to second with an aggregate of 10-under 200.

The fact that several others also give a close chase to the leader is likely to add a lot of thrill to the contest in the last round.

“It could be anyone’s game as there are a lot of contenders in this crowded leaderboard. One needs to shoot a seven or eight-under to win on the final day,” Vijay said.

The scores: Vijay Kumar (64, 68, 67) 199; Ashok Kumar (65, 69, 66) 200; Pappan (67, 69, 65), Mukesh Kumar (69, 67, 65), R. Murthy (67, 67, 67), C. Muniyappa (68, 64, 69) 201; Amardip Sinh Malik (62, 71, 69) 202; Digvijay Singh (68, 70, 65), Ajeetesh Sandhu (68, 66, 69), Mandeo Singh Pathania (69, 64, 70) 203; Harendra P. Gupta (68, 68, 68) 204; Vikrant Chopra (69, 69, 67), Vinod Kumar (67, 60, 68), Ali Sher (70, 65, 70) 205; Karanjit Singh Sandhu (68, 70, 68), Joseph Chakola (67, 71, 68) 206; Rajiv Niranjan Dattar (69, 67, 71) 207; Arjun Singh (73, 66, 69), M. Dhamra (70, 71, 67), Manav Jaini (65, 73, 70), Kunal Bhasin (66, 69, 73) 208.

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