SEVEN SHARE AVANTHA MASTERS LEAD IN INDIA

Drysdale one shot off the pace after three rounds

COMPILED BY THE EDITOR FROM THE ASIAN TOUR NEWS
RELEASE AND THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Englishman Richard Bland was one of the biggest third round movers as the Avantha Masters looks set for a dramatic finale, with seven players ending the day tied for the lead on 11 under par.
Dunbar's David Drysdale is tied eight - but only shot off off the pace and in with a great chance of his first European Tour victory if he were to "shoot the lights out" over Sunday's final round.
Bland stormed up the leaderboard on the back of a sparkling 66 at DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi, India
Starting his third round six shots off the pace, the 37 year old from Southampton made a bright start with two birdies in his opening three holes but failed to make further inroads over the front nine.
However, he accelerated coming back, picking up four shots over his closing seven holes to post a six under 66 and finish the day 11 under par.
"I have to say that it felt a bit strange that 66, because there were points when I felt that I wasn't playing too well," said Bland.
"It felt like my playing partners played better than I did but I was the one that made the score. They are probably at home cursing me at the moment but you have to take the luck when it comes your way.
"Sometimes you have to do it the ugly way. I'm not saying it was a really ugly day but usually 66s are a little bit prettier than that. But I managed to take advantage."
Barry Lane maintained his bid to become the oldest winner of a European Tour event after the 49 year old carded a one under 71, although he missed the chance to take the outright lead going into the final day with a frustrating bogey at the last.
"I played beautifully today, really nice," he said.
"I just couldn't hole any putts until the 15th and then holed another good one on the 17th but apart from that I struggled on the greens again so my wife had summoned me to the putting green to try and work on it and figure it out."
Second round leader Chan Yih-shin fought back from what was proving to be a mixed round with two birdies at the 12th and 15th as the Chinese Taipei golfer rescued a level par 72 to remain 11 under.
He was joined by Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed, who carded a 66 that contained eight birdies against just two bogeys while Indian golfer Rahil Gangjee produced a solid 69 that featured birdies at the third, seventh and 18th to also finish 11 under.
In a day of missed opportunities Japan's Tetsuji Hiratsuka, who set a course record 62 in the second round, also wasted an opportunity to head the field after a bogey at the 18th saw him sign for a 70 while the same fate befell Darren Beck after the Australian had picked up four early birdies.
Consecutive bogeys at the 11th and 12th halted David Drysdale's momentum but the Scot remains just one stroke off the lead on ten under after shooting a 71.
He is tied with Australian Andrew Dodt, who matched Drysdale's 71 despite double bogeying the fifth, and Thai golfer Kwanchai Tannin, who carded a two under 70.
Darren Clarke seemed poised to follow up Friday's impressive 66 with another fine effort, the Northern Irishman looking well placed at four under for the day through 15 holes before bogeys at the 16th and last signalled a disappointing end. His round of 70 saw him finish nine under alongside five other players.
India’s Rahil Gangjee Gangjee maintained his good run to bring some cheers to the home crowd after the country’s marquee names such as Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaganjeet Bhullar and SSP Chowrasia had failed to make it into the weekend rounds.
Gangjee won his maiden Asian Tour title during his rookie year in 2004 and he believes that he can end his six year title drought despite the pressures of being the leading Indian this week.
“The pressure will always be there but I’ve been in this position before and I’ve handled it well,” said the 31-year-old Indian.
Starting his round in tied-10th, Gangjee birdied the third and seventh holes to reach the turn in 34. He parred the next eight holes after the turn before closing with another birdie on the par-five 18th.
“I’m pretty happy because I had no bogeys again today. I’m excited that I’m in the lead but I’m just going to do what I’ve been doing the last three days by playing one shot at a time and enjoying it,” said Gangjee.
Japan's Tesuji Hiratsuka, who shot a course record of 62 at the weather-disrupted second round, underlined his title ambitions when he returned with a 70 to remain in contention for his career breakthrough on the Asian Tour.
The Japanese enjoyed a flawless opening front-nine where he recorded birdies on the fourth and ninth holes to reach the turn in 34. He then mixed two bogeys against two birdies in his homerun to sign for a 70.
“My putting has been very good today and I’ll happy with my early season form. There are still 18 holes to play tomorrow and I’ll do my best,” said Hiratsuka who earned his Asian Tour card through Qualifying School in 2009 and enjoyed two top-10s in his rookie year last season.
Beck whose maiden Asian Tour win came in Brunei last season proved that he is also ready to mount another genuine challenge this week.
The 31-year-old Australian who started his round tied for fourth, made his move up the leaderboard quickly with three birdies and a bogey in his opening four holes.
He then birdied the par-five sixth to reach the turn in 33 before mixing two bogeys against another birdie in his inward nine.
“If I can play the way I’ve done the last couple of days, it’ll be really good. Just looking at the leaderboard, it’s anyone’s game tomorrow. I’ll do my best and see where I stand at the end,” said the Australian.
Aberdonian Richie Ramsay and Motherwell's Steven O'Hara are sharing 18th place. O'Hara had his best round so far, a five-under-par 67 which included only one bogey, at the 12th, while Ramsay had a 70 for 209.
Kirkcaldy's Peter Whiteford is hanging in there too. Three rounds of 70 in a row have him only five shots behind the bunch of leaders - close enough to entertain dreams of what a great final round could do for him.
Whiteford birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th but took a bogey 6 at the long 18th.
Edinburgh-based Andrew Coltart had a 71 for 214. The former Ryder Cup player birdied the 15th, 17th and 18th.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS (before end of play)
Par 216 (3x72)
205 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe) 65 68 72, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 67 69 69, Richard Bland 68 71 66, Darren Beck (Aus) 70 65 70, Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 73 62 70, Barry Lane 67 67 71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 71 66
206 David Drysdale 68 67 71, Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg) 68 68 70, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 68 71
207 Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 71 70 66, Marcel Siem (Ger) 64 73 70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 67 73 67, Darren Clarke 71 66 70, Wen-hong Lin (Chn) 68 70 69, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 68 71 68
208 Oliver Fisher 70 67 71
209 John Parry 67 67 75, Richie Ramsay 71 68 70, Gareth Maybin 70 69 70, Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 71 71 67, Steven O'Hara 69 73 67, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 67 68 74, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70 68, Jason Knutzon (USA) 70 67 72, Sung Lee (Kor) 71 65 73, Richard Finch 69 69 71, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 68 67 74
210 Peter Whiteford 70 70 70, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 68 71, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 72 67 71, Lee Slattery 70 69 71
211 David Howell 74 68 69, Rhys Davies 72 68 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 71 69, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 71 69 71
212 Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 69 71, Angelo Que (Phi) 73 70 69, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 68 72 72, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 73 69 70, Danny Chia (Mal) 74 65 73, Adam Blyth (Aus) 74 68 70
213 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 74 72, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 69 70, Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 72 70 71, Joost Luiten (Ned) 69 74 70, George Coetzee (Rsa) 72 70 71, Kunal Bhasin (Ind) 71 71 71
214 Shane Lowry 71 66 77, Andrew Coltart 69 74 71, Richard McEvoy 73 68 73, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 72 70 72, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 76 65 73
215 Scott Hend (Aus) 76 67 72, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 72 71 72, Scott Barr (Aus) 73 70 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 73 72, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 71 71 73
216 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 74 73, Ben Leong (Mal) 68 73 75, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 71 70 75, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 71 74
217 Ashok Kumar (Ind) 70 72 75, Ted Oh (Kor) 71 72 74
218 Anthony Kang (USA) 71 72 75
220 Julien Quesne (Fra) 73 70 77