Om Prakash Chouhan takes two-stroke lead in Rd 3

Pahalgam: Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow carded a five-under-65 to take a two-stroke lead in round three of the J&K Bank PGTI Pahalgam Masters presented by KEO. Chouhan’s three-day total stands at 16-under-194. Sri Lankan K Prabagaran and Kapurthala’s Ashbeer Saini are in joint second at 14-under-196.


The day began with the completion of the second round after which the cut was declared at two-under-138. Fifty-two professionals made the cut as Om Prakash Chouhan emerged leader at 11-under-129. The third round commenced thereafter.


Om Prakash Chouhan (65-64-65), the round two leader, maintained his position at the top of the leaderboard after round three as a result of his gritty 65. He had an ideal start with a birdie on the first and picked up another stroke after driving the green on the eighth. Chouhan, a two-time winner on the PGTI, chipped-in for eagle on the 12th, before picking up two more shots on the 14th and 15th. The bogey on the 17th was the only blemish on Chouhan’s card.


“I’ve been playing to a plan and that’s helped me. I’m striking it really well after a long time. The weather changed a few times today and so did the direction of the wind and I had to adjust to that. The stretch from the 12th to the 15th really lifted my spirits. It’ll be an interesting final round with some very capable players like Prabagaran and Ashbeer just two shots behind me. I’ll target a total of 20-under,” said Chouhan.


The golfer from the little cantonment town of Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, added, “I’d like to thank the authorities at the Army War College Golf Course in Mhow for giving me the permission to play at their course once again. The availability of facilities in Mhow have helped me get my game back on track. Mr. Nilesh Patel, who is like an elder brother to me, has helped and supported me a lot through my tough times. I would like to thank him for all his help.”


K Prabagaran (64-69-63) shot the joint best single round score of the tournament, a bogey-free seven-under-63, to climb into tied second place. Prabagaran’s outstanding round also featured an eagle on the 12th along with five other birdies.


Prabagaran said, “I made some long putts today and was very accurate off the tee. My win in a tight playoff on the PGTI earlier this year has given me a lot of self-belief. I now feel I can raise my game in crunch situations. My focus in the final round will be scoring well on the par-5s.”


Ashbeer Saini (65-65-66) joined Prabagaran in tied second after posting a 66 in round three. Saini had a poor start with two bogeys on the first seven holes, however he came back well with an eagle and four birdies on the next 11 holes.


The Gurgaon-based duo of Shubhankar Sharma and Arshdeep Tiwana occupied tied fourth place at 13-under-197 while Jyoti Randhawa, Abhinav Lohan, Manav Jaini and Khalin Joshi were a further shot back in tied sixth.


Jyoti Randhawa’s third round 67 featured six birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey.

Mukesh Kumar’s 63 on Friday was also the joint best single round score of the tournament. It placed him tied 12th at 10-under-200.


Chouhan: Don’t fancy another playoff with Prabagaran


Om Prakash Chouhan had lost in a playoff against K Prabagaran at Coimbatore earlier this year. The two golfers are once again in contention at Pahalgam with Chouhan leading by two going into the final round. A playoff against Prabagaran is now the last thing on Chouhan’s mind.


“I definitely want to avoid yet another playoff against Prabagaran since he got the better of me in a playoff few months back. Playoffs are a mental game and often past memories come back to haunt you in such situations. I’ll therefore try my best to not let the match go into a playoff, especially against Prabagaran,” said a confident Chouhan.