Angad Cheema of Chandigarh maintained his dominance in round three to continue as the top contender for the title at the Vizag Open 2024, at the East Point Golf Club (EPGC) in Visakhapatnam.
Cheema (69-61-70), the overnight leader by four shots, had a rock-solid penultimate round barring a setback on the final hole as he posted a one-under 70 on Friday to head into round four with a three-shot advantage at a total of 13-under 200.
Patna-based Aman Raj (66-68-69) put together a 2-under 69 to end day three in second position at 10-under 203.
Gurugram’s Kartik Sharma delivered the day’s best score of 7-under 64 to be placed tied third along with Noida’s Amardeep Malik (65) and Yashas Chandra (68) of Mysuru.
Cheema, currently fourth on the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking with six top-10s in the season so far, was off to a decent start as he built on his lead with birdies on the first two Par-5 holes, the first and seventh, thanks to his excellent approach shots. Cheema, searching for his second PGTI title and looking to end an 11-year victory drought, then had a minor hiccup with a bogey on the 10th after a couple of errant shots.
Thirty-four-year-old Cheema thereafter rallied with two terrific iron shots to leave himself short birdie conversions on the 11th and 15th. Cheema enjoyed an impressive six-shot lead heading into the final hole. However, a tough lie in the hazard on the 18th led to a double-bogey for Angad with his lead being reduced to three shots.
Cheema said, “I was playing well already, so today I just wanted to repeat what I did earlier in the week. I hit my irons and wedges well and that set up most of my birdies today. I struggled a bit with my tee shots today and that’s where I’ll look to improve in round four.”
He said, “The key in the final round will be to keep it in play on every hole and hit as many greens as possible because the whole golf course is challenging.”
Raj continued in sole second place after making four birdies and a double-bogey on Friday that kept him in the hunt for his fifth title. Sharma made an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys in his round of 64, the day’s lowest score. Last year’s champion N Thangaraja (66) of Sri Lanka was tied seventh at 7-under 206.
