Samarth emerges leader after Rd 3
Samarth Dwivedi
Samarth Dwivedi shot one-over 72 to assume the top position on the leaderboard even as overnight leader Vikram Rana went down the order with a 77 at the end of the third round of the Tata Steel Western India Amateur at the Poona Club Golf Course on Thursday.
The Thailand-based lad was level par 213 for 54 holes and led by a solitary stroke over Jamshedpur’s Karan Taunk, who shot the lone sub-par card of the day with a neatly compiled 69. Bengaluru’s Trishul Chinnappa and Vikram were tied for the third place at 217.
Shakti Singh was tied fifth along with Viraj Madappa and Amul Waghmare with the trio’s total reading 219. As many as four players — Kanishka Sinha, Ainesh Ahluwalia, Piyush Sangwan and Syed Saqib Ahmed — shared the eighth position at 220.
Samarth was in for an early setback when he carded back-to-back bogeys on the third and fourth. With the temperature a tad low than the first two days and mild winds, the players had a relatively easy going. Samarth then brought some stability to his round while carding a birdie on the par-5 seventh while parring the rest of the holes to take the turn at one-over.
On his back nine, Samarth, who is ranked fifth on the IGU Order of Merit, faced mixed luck as he garnered a birdie on the par-4 11th which was immediately followed by a double bogey. Saving pars on the next five holes, Samarth signed off with a birdie to finish level par for his last nine.
“A single stroke is not a huge lead. However, I would try and play my game and if need be I would go all out,” said Samarth. “I have been playing well and it is just a question of an exceptional round and I hope to achieve it on the morrow,” added the leader.
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