Gaganjeet Bhullar in action at Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2022 at Chandigarh Golf Club on Saturday. (Express photo by Jaipal Singh) Kapurthala golfer, a winner of 11 international titles, Gaganjeet Bhullar on Saturday carded a third round score of four-under-68 to take the lead by one shot with an overall score of 14-under-202 after the penultimate round of the fifth edition of the Rs 1.5 crore Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2022 presented by Take being played at Chandigarh Golf Club.
Bhullar, who was placed second after the second round, sank five birdies and had one bogey in his third round.
The Kapurthala golfer, who is nowadays based in Chandigarh, started the day with confidence as he sank a birdie on the first hole. Bhullar then sank two more birdies and had a bogey on the front-nine as he finished with a score of two-under-33. The back-nine saw Bhullar sinking a birdie each on the 13th and 16th hole before he made two successive pars to end the third round with an overall score of 14-under-202.
“I struck it well and hit a lot of regulations but didn’t hole as many putts as the last round. It was a steady round as I just conceded one bogey. My past experiences have taught me that whenever you are in contention over the weekend, minimising unforced errors gives you an opportunity. That was the goal. I play on this golf course four times a week. In the past two years I have spent a lot of time in Chandigarh. That’s the reason that I feel at home playing here. It’s easy for me to visualise a lot of tee shots here because of the familiarity with the course,” said Bhullar after the end of the day’s play.
The 2018 champion Bengaluru golfer Chikkarangappa carded a third round score of five-under-67, while 2020 champion and local lad Karandeep Kochhar carded a round of four-under-68 as both the players were tied at the second spot with an overall score of 13-under-203 each and trailing Bhullar by one shot.
Chikkarangappa sank seven birdies and made two bogeys in his third round to rise from overnight fourth spot to be tied second. “It was a great start for me with three birdies on the first five holes. My scrambling was good , I made some amazing up and downs from the bunker and that sort of kept me going and helped build the momentum that finally resulted in a few solid pars. The body is feeling good, I feel well-rested and am ready to put up my best effort in the final round,” said the Bengaluru golfer. Kochhar moved up from overnight third spot for the tied-second spot. Kochhar sank one birdie on the front-nine while the back-nine saw him sinking three birdies.
“I was quite consistent with my hitting today, making 16 greens in regulation. I was also pleased to be error-free. This gives me a good chance in the last round,” said Kochhar.
Overnight leader Abhijit Singh Chadha slipped to fourth place as he carded a par round of 72 to finish the third round with an overall score of 11-under-205. UT golfers Akshay Sharma and Amrit Lal were placed tied-fifth along with Rahil Gangjee, Rashid Khan and Khalin
Joshi with an overall score of eight-under-208 each.