By IANS,
New Delhi : Golfer Gagan Verma stayed on course for a big win as he extended his lead by one more shot to eight in the penultimate round of the third Gannon Dunkerley NCR Cup and Delhi State Championships here Thursday.
The Delhi-based amateur, who is currently leading the Indian Amateur Order of Merit, shot a one-over 73, his first over par round this week and moved to one-under 215, eight shots ahead of the trio tied for second.
Moving one place up, into tied second was defending champion Rashid Khan who shot a one-over 73. He was tied at a three-day total of 223 with Karan Vasudeva (74) and Keshav Kapoor (73) at the tough course of the Delhi Golf Club.
One shot further down were Samrat Basu (74) and Rudaresh Sharma (72), the only player to come in with a par round
Verma, who has been in excellent form through the season had an up-and-down round with three birdies and three bogeys on the front nine and one birdie and two bogeys on the back nine.
“I have been shooting good numbers this season, but I also felt I took it a little easy this morning. I was going good and then dropped three very quickly. That was a kind of a wake-up call,” said Verma.
One birdie and one bogey on the front nine saw Khan turn in even par and then on the tenth he dropped a double bogey. But later on he recovered with a birdie on 16th to end the day at one-over 73.
The two top finishers in the tournament get a spot in the Swiss Amateur Championships next year.