BOISE, IDAHO: Anirban Lahiri did make a couple of birdies but he missed a lot more in the third round of the Albertsons Boise Open in the Korn Ferry Tour finals. Yet as important was that he did not let any bogeys creep on to his card. Lahiri following his two-under 69 is now 11-under 202 for three rounds and positioned Tied-12th.
Lahiri, who was Tied-seventh in the first event, is sure to secure his PGA Tour card for 2019-20 with a finish of around Top-20.
Lahiri birdied the second and the fifth. What was really frustrating for Lahiri was that he managed only pars on two of three Par-5s. In comparison, he birdied two of the three Par-5s and on second day he birdied all three.
He had two bogeys in each of his first two rounds, but none in third. He has had 15 birdies. Lahiri has shot rounds of 68-65-69.
Lahiri first qualified for the PGA Tour 2016 season after coming through the Korn Ferry Tour finals in late 2015, the year he won his last title at the Hero Indian Open.
Norwegian sensation Viktor Hovland carded a 7-under 64 on Saturday to leap to the top of the leaderboard at 15-under after three rounds.
AMAN 9TH IN JAKARTA
Aman Raj completed a fine weekend as he added a 68 to finish at 12-under for the week and finish Tied-ninth at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. It was his first Top-10 outside of India this year.
Udayan Mane (67) was 11-under and T-13, while Arjun Prasad (67) and Khalin Joshi (70) were T-28 and T-31 respectively, while Divyanshu Bajaj (69) was T-35 and Samarth Dwivedi (71) was T-51.
The 17-year-old Joohyung Kim (67) of Korea overturned a five-shot deficit before going on to beat overnight leader Mardan Mamat (72) in the playoff to claim his second Asian Development Tour title.
NIKITA, ASTHA AND NISHTHA MAKE CUT
India’s Nikita Arjun and sisters Astha Madan and amateur Nishtha Madan made the first cut and will play the fourth and final round of the LPGA Stage I qualifiers.
Nikita Arjun (71-72-76) and Astha (71-71-77) were Tied-82nd, while Nishtha (78-71-72) was 116th. Amateur Chaithra Katamneni and Saaniya Sharma missed the cut.
BHULLAR FINISHES 52ND
Gaganjeet Bhullar carded a final round of four-under 66, his best of the week to finish Tied-52nd after a modest first three days in the Scandinavian Invitation on the European Tour at Hills Golf and Sports Club. He had rounds of 71-69-69 on the first three days to total four-under 276.
DIKSHA T42 IN PRAGUE
Diksha Dagar added 71-74 in her second and third round to finish T-42 in the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open. The final round will give her a chance to improve her final position in the three-round event, which is jointly sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
GANGJEE 52ND IN JAPAN
Rahil Gangjee, India’s only card holder on the Japan Tour, shot a final round one-under 71 to finish at four-under 284 to finish Tied-52nd in the Segasammy Cup on the Japan Tour.
Starting on the tenth, which he bogeyed, Gangjee birdied the 15th, fourth and ninth for his 71.
Ryo Ishikawa shot a final round 68 to reach 20-under and win by four shots over Juvic Pagunsan (67) on Sunday. It was Ishikawa’s second win in the event after having won it in 2014 the first time.
ADITI ZOOMS TO TOP 10
Aditi Ashok was on way to her best round of 2019 when a double bogey on 17th thwarted that as she finished with six-under 66 in the third round of the CP Women’s Open. Aditi is now Tied-eighth. She was eight-under through 16 and inside Top-5 before the disastrous double bogey pulled her back.
With one more round left, a good finish in Top-10, which would be her best this season, would put her in the right frame as the Tour gets into the closing stages for 2019 season. There are seven more events left before the season-ending Championship.
Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko and Nicole Broch Larsen are tied atop the leaderboard at 18-under heading into final round.
