Battle lines drawn at the DGC as Chawrasia leads by two

Anand Datla
March 19, 2016: The plot is thickening at the Delhi Golf Club, with SSP Chawrasia leading by two after 54 holes of the Hero Indian Open. The stage is set for a thrilling finale with the leaderboard providing for a rerun of the sensational Sunday action that was witnessed last year. Chawrasia has two shots on Terry Pilkadaris and a four stroke advantage over Anirban Lahiri and Rashid Khan, who are lying joint third at 10-under 206.

They call the golfer from Kolkata Chipputsia, for his famed ability to chip and putt his way out of tight situations. Those skills were on full display through a memorable third round.

Chawrasia had raced into the lead with a troika of birdies from the sixth hole, but life after the turn was far from comfortable. Chawrasia showed great character to save par at the tenth, but his best, and perhaps one of the finest par saves ever at the DGC came on the 12th hole.

A wayward tee shot left Chawrasia needing to play out of the bush, with the thorns pricking his back. Despite his obvious discomfort, Chawrasia managed to chip out, but the landed on a grassy bank off the par-3 tenth green.
Incredibly Chawrasia managed to just about enough space for his stance and landed softly before watching the ball roll into the pin to thunderous applause. It was an iconic moment of golfing magic that will play repeatedly on the highlights reel of the Hero Indian Open.

But Chawrasia will need to embrace a stricter discipline and hope that he does not need such wizardry on what promises to be a tricky Sunday. As familiar as Chawrasia is with the course at the Delhi Golf Club, he will remember too well that he allowed Anirban Lahiri to erase a seven shot deficit last year, before losing the play off.

Last year, a poor tee shot at the first hole set the tone for a miserable Sunday for the 37 year old golfer. He will hope on Sunday that he can get off to a much better start and impose himself early to try and win the Hero Indian Open for the first time in his career.

“I have played here at the Delhi Golf Club quite few times, so I know how to play here,” assured Chawrasia. “Honestly, the Hero Indian Open is a very important tournament for me and I want to win it because I have finished second over here four times.
“My next goal is to play in the Olympics,” he added. “So if I manage to win here I will make the team.”

Lahiri is turning into a solid weekend player and a spotless 67 underlined the magnitude of threat facing Chawrasia on Sunday. The 49th ranked Indian is four back and believes he has a strong chance in the final round.

I didn’t drop a shot and barely missed a couple of greens,” said Anirban. “I had quite a few chances but I didn’t roll the ball as much as I would have liked. I could have made a few more putts from 10 or 15 feet.”

“I have a chance. This is Delhi Golf Club and pressure does funny things to people out here,” reminded Lahiri, tongue in cheek. “I can’t control the weather or how anybody is playing. I’m happy with how I played today so hopefully I can back it up with a better final round.”

Rashid Khan has been playing this week with a renewed focus. He was eleven under at one stage before the course caught up with him. He paid with a couple of bogeys but a fine birdie on the 18th meant that he will play Sunday with Anirban in the second last group.