New Delhi, Oct 17 Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra surged to a two-shot lead at the DP World India Championship after a stellar third-round before fading light forced suspension of play at the Delhi Golf Club here on Saturday, setting up a long final day.
Chacarra, who had seven holes remaining in his third round, reached 14-under par for the tournament after producing nine birdies to move clear of the chasing pack.
His compatriot Angel Hidalgo and Dutchman Joost Luiten were his nearest challengers at 12-under when play was called off at 5.44 pm local time due to darkness.
The third round will resume at 6.35 am on Sunday, with the players facing a demanding schedule after a nearly five-hour weather delay on the opening day disrupted the tournament programme.
The second round was completed only on Saturday morning, leaving players with a quick turnaround for the third round.
Chacarra, who had taken the halfway lead at 10-under after successive rounds of 67, continued his charge as he strengthened his bid to top the Race to Dubai Rankings.
The Spaniard had made five birdies in the closing 13 holes of his second round on Saturday morning, despite dropping shots at the ninth and 16th, to establish a one-shot advantage over Scotland’s Scott Jamieson.
He carried that momentum into the third round, moving further ahead with a series of birdies, including a long putt at the seventh that extended his advantage to three shots at one stage.
Chacarra’s position also puts him in contention to challenge current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, who made the cut right on the level-par mark before producing a strong third round to climb the leaderboard.
Reed was six-under for his third round through 13 holes and six-under overall, helped by an eagle. The American had started his round with a bogey but responded with three successive birdies.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, another contender in the season-long rankings race, was four-under for the tournament after a mixed third round.
McIlroy began with a birdie but endured a difficult stretch, including a double bogey at the sixth, before recovering with a birdie at the seventh. He finished his day on a high by holing out from a bunker for an eagle at the 14th.
Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood was nine-under and tied 11th after completing his third round in four-under.
Among the Indians, Om Prakash Chouhan was the best placed at five-under and tied 30th after completing his round. Anirban Lahiri was two-under and tied 48th, with two holes remaining in his third round.
Yuvraj Sandhu was level par through 14 holes, while Shiv Kapur, Karandeep Kochhar and Saptak Talwar were also level par for the tournament, with their third round still in progress.
Six Indian golfers had made the cut for the final two rounds, with Chouhan leading the home challenge after rounds of 68 and 72 in the first two rounds.
With the third round still unfinished and the final round to follow, Sunday promises to be a demanding test of endurance and consistency for the field at the USD four million event.
The tournament’s delayed schedule has compressed the final stages of the competition, leaving little room for error for those chasing Chacarra, who will resume with a commanding advantage.
(PTI News)
