Siddikur extends lead over Chowrasia at Indian Open

New Delhi: Siddikur continued to dominate the Indian Open when he shot a flawless third round five-under-par 67 to extend his lead by four shots over local hope S.S.P. Chowrasia at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) here Saturday.

The Bangladeshi hit a sublime chip from the green side bunker on hole 18 for an easy tap-in birdie to put himself in prime position to win his second Asian Tour title since 2010 at the $1.25 million Asian Tour event.

Chowrasia, a two-time Asian Tour winner, closed with two birdies for a 66 while Rashid Khan of India and Filipino Angelo Que shot a 65 and 67 respectively to share third on 204.Siddikur, who has only dropped two shots in 54 holes, said that he is playing his best golf since turning professional in 2007.

"It has been a great week. This is the best I've played in my career. I'm putting and hitting the ball so well. Mentally I'm strong and very focussed. When I won in Brunei, I had to play safe because I wanted to save my Asian Tour card and make some money to survive on the Tour. Now, I'm not playing for money. I'm hungry for achievements so that's my target," said the Bangladeshi, who leads with a three-day total of 17-under-par 199.

Siddikur, the first player from Bangladesh to play and win on the Asian Tour, will continue playing aggressively after trading his safe approach game with more attacking flair.

"I didn't read the lines properly or my score would have been lower. It is a big advantage for me now. If I can play like how I've been playing, I think I can easily win," said Siddikur.

Chowrasia, who finished second here in 1999 and 2006, struggled with wayward tee shots early in his round but bounced back with four birdies in his closing five holes."My hitting wasn't very accurate to begin with as I kept hitting it left and right. I feel I really got going from the 14th hole onwards as I started finding the centre of the fairway," said Chowrasia.

"Siddikur has been playing some top quality golf. He has also done well at this venue in the past. I'll have to shoot somewhere in the region of seven-under to put up a stiff challenge on the final day."

Leaderboard:

199 - Siddikur (BAN) 66-66-67.
203 - S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND) 69-68-66.
204 - Rashid Khan (IND) 69-70-65, Angelo Que (PHI) 69-68-67.
205 - Anirban Lahiri (IND) 71-67-67.
206 - Unho Park (AUS) 68-73-65, Adam Groom (AUS) 69-67-70.
208 - Chiragh Kumar (IND) 69-70-69, Baek Seuk-hyun (KOR) 69-69-70, Rahil Gangjee (IND) 66-69-73.
209 - Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 71-70-68.
210 - Mithun Perera (LKA) 70-72-68, Jake Higginbottom (AUS) 72-70-68, Anthony Kang (USA) 70-73-67, Scott Barr (AUS) 71-70-69, Lee Sung (KOR) 70-70-70, Sanjay Kumar (IND) 70-68-72, Shankar Das (IND) 67-70-73.
211 - Chan Yih-shin (TPE) 70-72-69, Manav Jaini (IND) 72-69-70, Mardan Mamat (SIN) 66-73-72, Chawalit Plaphol (THA) 70-68-73, Chapchai Nirat (THA) 66-68-77.