By IANS,
Bangalore : Mohammed Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh hung on to the lead at the Global Green Bangalore Open 2009 (an Aircel PGTI event) with yet another tenacious effort of three-under 69 at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course, here Friday.
Rahman now has a total of seven-under 209. Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh ended the day in second place as he too fired a 69 to be placed one stroke behind Siddikur.
Rahman (71, 69, 69) fired his second successive 69 of the tournament to become the top contender for the title. Siddikur, who is currently ranked 20th on the Aircel PGTI Order of Merit, was in tremendous hitting form in round three.
He set up easy birdies with great approach shots on the third and fifth to consolidate on his overnight lead. On the par five fifth, his third shot (lob wedge) came up just three inches short of the pin. A bogey on the eighth meant he made the turn at one under.
Rahman gained another stroke on the 11th with a superb bunker shot that stopped just about 10 inches short of the hole. He then missed a five-footer for par on the 12th and therefore dropped a stroke. But Rahman rallied with birdies on the 13th and 15th to close the day at three under.
“I hit it much better today as compared to the previous rounds. My tee shots and approach shots set up some relatively easy birdie opportunities for me. My putting confidence was also quite high as I made a 12 feet birdie putt on the 13th. Importantly, I did not make any three-putt today,” said Siddikur.
If Siddikur was in good hitting form, Ranjit Singh (70, 71, 69) was hot with the putter. Ranjit’s 69 in the penultimate round helped him end the day in second place.
The Chandigarh golfer produced five birdies against two bogeys Friday. The highlights of his third round were an excellent bunker shot on the 11th that led to a birdie and two long birdie putts on the 16th and 18th.
Bangalore-based professional Anirban Lahiri (72, 70, 70) was third at four under 212 while Harendra Gupta is a further stroke behind in fourth.
Bangalore’s C Muniyappa was tied sixth at even par 216. Mukesh Kumar shared eighth place at one over 217 with another Bangalore golfer, R. Srinivas.