Gallacher has victory chance in Hero
Indian Open, T3 shot off lead
Indian Open, T3 shot off lead
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Stephen Gallacher felt he survived a Major Championship test of endurance as he produced a brilliant third-round 67 to put himself right in contention at the Hero Indian Open.
On a day when the DLF Golf and Country Club course yielded just nine under- par rounds, Gallacher's five-under effort was the best of the lot and left him just a shot off the lead.
The Scot has played two Ryder Cups, so he knows a thing or two about playing on the toughest stage, and he admitted the New Delhi lay-out tests you right to the limit.
"It’s just a tough course," he said. "You’ve got to play well, it’s as simple as that. You’ve got to be a bit strategic in places about where you leave it and you’ve just got to hit solid shots.
"I’m knackered, I’m going back for a sleep. You just can’t let up on any shot. It’s like playing a Major kind of style. Even if you hit a good tee-shot you’ve got to work hard on your next shot and your next shot. It’s mentally tough.
"I just played really solid the whole day. I’ve played good all week, I’ve just not taken my chances.
"Today there were a few pins that were really tough. It was playing its longest, swirling winds. Anything under par was brilliant and I had a good finish there so it sets me up for tomorrow.
"If I play like that tomorrow I’ve got to have a chance."
Andrew Johnston fired a round of 73 to sit two shots off the lead and he was pleased with his battling qualities on day when most of the field struggled.
The Englishman shared the lead when he chipped in for an eagle at the fourth and while he made three bogeys after that, he was still very much in contention.
"My round was not too bad," he said. "I felt that I didn’t play too well today but I scrambled really well. I made a lot of good up-and-downs. It was not my best golf but being one over par still hasn’t put me out of the tournament. So it was a good day.
"You see the scoreboard and see a lot of people going backwards.
"The pins were tricky and the winds picked up. You just have to be patient. I made a chip-in for eagle and no birdies the whole round. It was a lot of scrambling. I made a lot of six to 10 footers for par."
On a day when the DLF Golf and Country Club course yielded just nine under- par rounds, Gallacher's five-under effort was the best of the lot and left him just a shot off the lead.
The Scot has played two Ryder Cups, so he knows a thing or two about playing on the toughest stage, and he admitted the New Delhi lay-out tests you right to the limit.
"It’s just a tough course," he said. "You’ve got to play well, it’s as simple as that. You’ve got to be a bit strategic in places about where you leave it and you’ve just got to hit solid shots.
"I’m knackered, I’m going back for a sleep. You just can’t let up on any shot. It’s like playing a Major kind of style. Even if you hit a good tee-shot you’ve got to work hard on your next shot and your next shot. It’s mentally tough.
"I just played really solid the whole day. I’ve played good all week, I’ve just not taken my chances.
"Today there were a few pins that were really tough. It was playing its longest, swirling winds. Anything under par was brilliant and I had a good finish there so it sets me up for tomorrow.
"If I play like that tomorrow I’ve got to have a chance."
Andrew Johnston fired a round of 73 to sit two shots off the lead and he was pleased with his battling qualities on day when most of the field struggled.
The Englishman shared the lead when he chipped in for an eagle at the fourth and while he made three bogeys after that, he was still very much in contention.
"My round was not too bad," he said. "I felt that I didn’t play too well today but I scrambled really well. I made a lot of good up-and-downs. It was not my best golf but being one over par still hasn’t put me out of the tournament. So it was a good day.
"You see the scoreboard and see a lot of people going backwards.
"The pins were tricky and the winds picked up. You just have to be patient. I made a chip-in for eagle and no birdies the whole round. It was a lot of scrambling. I made a lot of six to 10 footers for par."
While Gallacher boosted his victory prospects, compatriot Marc Warren had a nightmare 86 to drop to T56.
Warren had a quadruple bogey 8, a double bogey 6 and a triple bogey 7 in halves of 41-45 - 18 shots more than he took in the first round.
Round three scores
par 216 (3x72)
209 S Sharma (India) 73 64 72, M Wallace (Eng) 69 70 70
210 S Gallacher (Sco) 72 71 67 211 A Johnston (Eng) 72 66 73, E Grillo (Arg) 65 68 78, M Schwab (Austria) 71 72 68 212 P Larrazábal (Spn) 67 71 74, S Kim (USA) 70 70 72 213 A Rai (Eng) 71 73 69, P Peterson (USA) 67 73 73, R Gouveia (Portugal) 69 73 71 214 J Luiten (Netherlands) 71 69 74, H Tanihara (Jpn) 74 68 72 215 J Choi (SKor) 72 71 72, S Brown (Eng) 74 71 70, C Sordet (Fra) 72 72 71, P Pittayarat (Tha) 69 70 76, J Donaldson (Wal) 71 70 74 216 A Wall (Eng) 71 73 72, J Todd (USA) 72 74 70, S Gros (Fra) 69 71 76 217 D Boonma (Tha) 71 76 70, C O'Toole (USA) 74 66 77, C Shih-Chang (Taipei) 71 71 75, G Green (Mas) 69 73 75 218 J Wang (SKor) 69 71 78, A Sandhu (Ind) 68 76 74, J Dantorp (Swe) 69 70 79, G Havret (Fra) 73 72 73219 J Morrison (Eng) 70 72 77, K Horne (SAf) 66 73 80, 220 A Lahiri (India) 72 73 75, J Randhawa (Ind) 72 72 76, N Srithong (Tha) 76 70 74, R Rock (Eng) 73 73 74, E Molinari (Ita) 71 72 77 221 T Bjørn (Denmark) 70 72 79, K Joshi (India) 72 68 81, W Ormsby (Aus) 71 72 78, A Chesters (Eng) 74 71 76, C Wood (Eng) 77 69 75 222 J Scrivener (Australia) 73 74 75, N Elvira (Spn) 75 72 75, M Fraser (Aus) 73 73 76, D Gleeson (Australia) 75 70 77, N Fung (Mas) 69 73 80, W Liang (China) 75 72 75 223 M Shin (USA) 73 73 77, K Kochhar (India) 75 72 76, S Fernandez (Spn) 73 73 77, Y Chang (SKor) 73 72 78, K Kaul (India) (am) 70 76 77 224 M Manassero (Ita) 67 79 78, P Meesawat (Tha) 72 73 79, R Evans (Eng) 76 71 77 226 U Mane (India) 72 75 79, A Saddier (Fra) 67 78 81, M Warren (Sco) 68 72 86, K Kitayama (USA) 72 71 83 227 G Storm (Eng) 79 68 80 228 D Clarke (NIre) 72 73 83 229 A Wu (China) 72 74 83, S Lee (SKor) 71 75 83
230 S Yongcharoenchai (Tha) 75 71 84
231 L Weber (Fra) 73 74 84, A Que (Philippines) 76 71 84 ** S Norris (SAf) 69 78 retired |
Labels: EUROPEAN TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, March 10, 2018
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