India's Veer Ahlawat fought back from being three-over after three holes to stay in the hunt for a Top-10 finish at the USD 1.25 million SMBC Singapore Open here on Saturday.
Ahlawat, who had a Top-10 finish in the first event of the Phuket series last December, finished strongly with three birdies in the last four holes for his 1-under 70, his third straight sub-par round.
Ahlawat, whose sole pro win came on his domestic tour in 2019, was 5-under for 54 holes and placed tied 10th.
Shiv Kapur (70) was inside Top-20 with a total of 4-under through three rounds and was tied 18th. Viraj Madappa, playing his third round alongside Kapur, shot 75 including a double bogey on Par-5 18th. Madappa was 2-over 215 for tied 47th.
S Chikkarangappa (72) and Rashid Khan (71) were 3-over 216 and tied 55th.
READ: American Express Championships: Lahiri T-32 after second round
American Sihwan Kim (69), who has spent much of his career playing on the Challenge Tour in Europe, was chasing his first win as a professional. He kept a share of the lead after the third round and was sharing it with Sadom Kaewkanjana (65) from Thailand, whose 65 had six birdies and no bogeys. Sadom and Kim were both at 11-under.
Ahlawat had a rough start with a double bogey 'six' on Par-4 third and a bogey on Par-5 fourth. However, he steadied the ship with some pars and a birdie on the ninth followed by another birdie on the 10th. A dropped shot on 14 was disappointing, but he birdied 15th, 16th and 18th for a strong finish.
Joohyung Kim, the 19-year-old Korean who currently leads the Asian Tour Order of Merit, returned a 69 and was in solo possession of third, three strokes back. Australian Zach Murray, in with 65, Justin De Los Santos from the Philippines and Japan's Yuto Katsuragawa, who both scored 68, were a further shot behind.
Sadom's sole Asian Tour win came at the 2019 Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open.
Comments
SHARE