They were first and second last week at the Take Solutions Masters, an event on the ADT Tour, and now they have a shot at the Panasonic Open India on the main Asian Tour. While the 22-year-old S Chikkarangappa won the ADT title, 19-year-old Shubhankar Sharma was second, losing to the former in a play-off.
Not only could they be challenging for the title, but Chikka, currently 71st on Asian Tour Order of Merit, could move into Top-60 to secure his card for 2016 and Shubhankar is currently 83rd. Both know that the final round could be an important day in their respective careers.
Chikka, who last week successfully defended his ADT title, shot four-under par 68 to move to eight-under 208 and tied third place, three shots behind leader Chiragh Kumar (72). Lying second at 10-under is Siddikur, who is once again in contention at his favourite Delhi Golf Club.
Shubhankar, who was fourth at the Panasonic Open India 2014, after missing out getting into the play-off by one shot, carded five-under 67 to move to six-under 210 and tied seventh place alongside another Indian, Vikrant Chopra (71).
Chikka, who shows a lot of emotion on the golf course, and plays with a lot of intensity, smiled as he came back and said, “Probably, I’ll ring up Anirban (Lahiri), and get a few tips from him. He won his first Asian Tour event here at the Delhi Golf Club. So probably, I would like to follow in his footsteps.”
He added, “The Delhi Golf club is always special for me because I have a lot of memories out here. As an amateur I never made cut, and as I turned professional I started making cuts and started playing well. So I am really looking forward to tomorrow.”
He went on, “I am just going to stick to my strategy; the way I have been playing for the last three days. My tee shots have been really strong, that’s my strongest point right now. I am playing well. But I am struggling a little bit in reading the speed of the greens. I guess tomorrow is the day for me to roll them in. I have been driving well all three days so far. I have taken the woods out of my bag and I have been hitting just the three-iron. I just got this from my friend in the practice round. I have been hitting that club really well, getting up to 270-280 yards. That’s a big change for me this week.”
He also admitted, “Today, I just kept myself composed, unlike the first two days when I was unhappy with the way I was putting. But I managed to get my focus back and went with the momentum. At the Delhi Golf Club it’s not over till the last hole has been played.”
Talking about the last hole in 2014, Shubhankar needed a birdie on the 18th and it would have got him into a four-way play-off. But he did not make it and ended fourth as SSP Chawrasia beat Mithun Perera and Rahil Gangjee to the title over extra holes.
“I have been playing well and I am quite confident. Another decent round and I may have a chance,” he said confidently. Clearly last week’s showing has given him confidence.
He said, “My putting was the highlight of my round today. I made about four long birdie putts from a range of 10 to 25 feet. I made birdies on both par-5s on the back-nine but I feel I should’ve also scored on the par-5s in the first half. Unfortunately, my four-foot birdie putt on the first lipped out and then I made an unforced error on the eighth where I found the bushes from centre of the fairway to drop a bogey.”
He added, “The runner-up finish on the ADT last week has been a confidence-booster for me. I’ve brought the same aggressive attitude from last week into this week. I began the third round with six-under as my target but I’m still happy with a five-under. I’ve put myself in a good position now. I can now challenge the leaders in the final round.”
