Chikkarangappa wrests sole lead

On a sizzling run of form of late, S Chikkarangappa primed himself for a second title in as many months after extending his advantage in the TAKE Open Golf Championship here on Friday.

Confident after locking in his Asian Tour card for 2017 following three successive top-10 finishes over the last few weeks, title favourite Chikkarangappa fired a fine four-under 68 (204) in the third round to take a healthy three-shot lead at the Karnataka Golf Association.

Seasoned campaigner Gaurav Pratap Singh, who last won on the main PGTI circuit way back in November 2009, gave himself some hope with a 68 to share the second spot with Shubhankar Sharma (70).

Overnight leader Sujjan Singh, finding the going tough on another sun-kissed day, salvaged a 72 to occupy the fourth spot with Chiragh Kumar (69) and Rahil Gangjee (70) at 208.

The clear favourite even before a ball could be hit in this event, Chikkarangappa seemed determined to race away from a jam-packed leaderboard from the word go. Striking the ball beautifully, the 23-year-old started off with a hat-trick of birdies.

On the first hole he sunk a 12-foot putt while on the second he hit from the rough to about 10 feet which he duly converted. On the third he sunk a four-footer as he threatened to open up a massive lead over his rivals. However, just then he ran over a speed-breaker, dropping a shot on the fourth. He picked up a shot on the sixth but dropped one on the par-5 ninth, his nemesis over the last three days. Just as in the opening two rounds, he failed to find the fairway and he ended up making a bogey.

Chikkarangappa, however, recovered well soon after the turn. He birdied the 11th, sinking a huge 20-footer and then picked his sixth shot of the day on the very next hole with a 12-foot putt. With a 15-foot birdie on the 17th, he appeared to be taking the game away from his rivals but encountered a horror finish to his round.

He found the woods with his tee shot and then, seemingly distracted by the photographers, he scuffed his second shot that left him back in the woods. He then drove the ball onto the green with his fourth shot but then two-putted to settle for a bogey.

“It was a disappointing end but I’m very happy with my performance. I started off brilliantly which gave me plenty of confidence. I hit well and putted well too,” said Chikkarangappa. “My only concern is the par-5s. Normally it’s my strength but I’ve been found wanting there. I hope to do well there on Saturday.”

Leading scores (after 54 holes, ‘A’ denotes amateur): 204: S Chikkarangappa (69, 67, 68); 207: Gaurav Pratap Singh (67, 72, 68), Shubhankar Sharma (68, 69, 70); 208: Chiragh Kumar (70, 69, 69), Rahil Gangjee (68, 70, 70), Sujjan Singh (66, 70, 72); 209: Jaibir Singh (A, 69, 69, 71), Anura Rohana (72, 66, 71); 210: Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (72, 70, 68), Sanjay Kumar (71, 69, 70).