Indians crowd leaderboard at DGC Open as weather hits day three

Experienced Thai golfer Chapchai Nirat kept the overseas challenge alive in the face of sustained Indian dominance going into the final day of The DGC Open presented by Mastercard on Saturday.

On a day interrupted by unseasonal rain and a thunderstorm warning, Chapchai (68-71-71) was in in a tie for third place on six-under par 210 alongside Honey Baisoya and Om Prakash Chouhan five shots behind day three leader Rashid Khan (11-under 205).

Overnight leader Chikkarangappa S. of Bangalore had a fay to forget on the greens with a two-over par 74 that saw him swap places at the top of the leaderboard with Rashid Khan (67-70-68). Chikka, as he is popularly known so far has had cards of 68, 66 and Saturday’s 74 against his name.

England’s Matt Killen (68-69-74) and the Philippines duo of Miguel Tabuena (68-71-72) and Justin Quiban (67-71-73) were in a tie for sixth place on five under 211 with Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng and Sadom Kaewkanjana and Ian Snyman of South Africa sharing ninth place on four under 212s.

Rashid Khan who was a member of the Indian team that won a silver medal at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last won on the continental tour came at the Chiangmai Golf Classic in 2014.

Khan later said, “These rounds give a lot of confidence. When I shot a bogey-free round on day one, I was happy and today after the double bogey on the first hole, coming back this strong it gives me a lot of momentum going into Sunday.

“I hit back well and made birdies on two, four and five to restart the round. I was just trying to find the greens and give myself birdie opportunities, and I holed some really good putts today.

“The weather didn't really affect me. I was in that zone where I was just focusing on one thing. I was just surprised that there was lightning and we were getting scared a little because of that, but rain just came maybe on the last two holes, so it was fine.”

Chikkarangappa opted to look at the positives despite not being at his best on the greens and dropping two shots through round three.

“I wouldn't say it was a bad day. I hit the ball good, I just I lost a little bit of speed on the greens with probably the weather and the rain. I struggled a bit on the speed. But otherwise, I've been hitting it good, just need to trust my game.

“I hit two bushes today and then with those I made two bogies and the rest of the day, I made sure that I was in there.

“So yeah, it's okay. Definitely the greens changed a bit after the rain, even the fairways as well. I still have another 18 holes to go tomorrow.”

Chapchai, who has a a long history including a phenomenal 62-62 start at the 2009 SAIL Open at the Classic course in Gurgaon that led to a world record 32-under victory margin, was for a while in contention for the lead with a string of birdies on his outbound nine but suffered something of a bump on the way back to the clubhouse.

The 40-year-old had three bogeys and a double on the back nine, seemingly unsettled by the changing conditions and storm warning but two birdies in between the dropped shots kept his round on even keel.

“My outing felt good today,” Chapchai said later. “I had a bad time on the 14th, 16th and 18th holes but also had birdies on 15 and 17 that helped. I played my tee shot on 14 and then had to stop because of the rain and when we came back after the break, it went wrong.”

Killen was in a four-way tie for third place with Baisoya, Chapchai and Chouhan but a closing bogey on 18 dropped him back to tied sixth with a two-over 74 for the day.

“It was a little bit on and off with the rain and the pins were tricky as well,” Killen said. “It just made scoring tough. Also those last few holes in the rain were a little bit awkward. You don't have all the proper rain gear with you. Like I said before this golf course demands good shots and it's tough anyway, so when you get adverse conditions, it gets tricker.

“It was a rough start with bogeys on two and three. I played into some awkward spots, they are tricky holes anyway and you hit it in a bad place and it makes it even tougher. But came back well with birdies on eight and nine. After that I was kind of hanging in there and sadly dropped a couple (of shots) near the end there, but I’m still in an OK position.

“Whenever you shoot over par it feels like a bad day, but I guess two bogeys in the last three holes and make you feel a bit worse. But like I said, still a good position going into tomorrow, Anything can happen tomorrow. Especially on this golf course.”

Defending champion Nitithorn Thippong (67-70-82) had a day to forget, plummeting from a share of second place all the way down to tied 52nd with a 10-over par round of 82 that included eight bogeys and a double against no birdies and nine pars.

Still, the young Thai managed to summon a smile at the end and a “let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”

Last month Baisoya was second at the Hero Indian Open after the first round and was still in the top-10 after three rounds before finishing T20th. Baisoya’s best Asian Tour finish is fifth at the Panasonic Open India in 2016.

“I just changed my mindset today. I told my caddie that we will make every par, and and no bogeys today.,” Baisoya said later.

“That is the plan for the last two rounds. I started with a birdie and after five holes, I was three under. I was hitting it good and I putting really well.

“The pins were not easy. The wind was changing and it was swirling a lot so it was difficult to judge where to hit and where to aim so overall it was a really good day for me.”

Only Rashid and Chapchai from the top eight on the leaderboard have won before on the Asian Tour.