Shamim leads, Karandeep slips to 8th spot

Chandigarh, April 19

Shamim Khan’s 7-under 65 in Round 3 put him into the lead in the Paramount Golf Foreste Delhi-NCR Open Golf Championship in Noida on Thursday. 

Khan took his total to 10-under 206, giving him a one-shot advantage going into the final round. There was a three-way tie for second place between Delhi’s Honey Baisoya (68), Om Prakash Chouhan (70) of Mhow and Kolkata’s Shankar Das (69) at 9-under 207.

Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar, who was the joint leader after Round 2, dropped to tied-8th after a 74 that took his total to 5-under 211.Khan (69-72-65), who was tied-8th overnight, jumped up the leaderboard thanks to his putting show. Khan, a winner of 15 professional titles, recently changed his putter. The 39-year-old signed off Round 3 with a birdie on the last hole. He is currently in sixth place on the PGTI Order of Merit as a result of four top-10 finishes from six starts. In Round 4, he will look to capitalise on his enviable record at the Noida course, a venue where he has registered two wins in the past.

“The change in putter has really improved my putting average. I wasn’t converting as many putts as I would’ve liked. My hitting has been quite consistent for a long while though,” said Khan. 

Meanwhile, Baisoya began the day with a chip-in for eagle on the first. He went on to add another eagle on the 17th hole along with three birdies and three bogeys for a round of 68. Baisoya, the current PGTI Order of Merit leader and a two-time winner at this course, jumped up two positions. Round 2 joint leader Chouhan and Das, who was overnight third, both shot three birdies in the first four holes. However, Chouhan and Das ended the day with scores of 70 and 69, respectively. Ramesh Kumar of Faridabad is in fifth place at 8-under 208 after a third round effort of 68. —TNS