Eugenio Chacarra will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Hero Indian Open after posting a one over par 73 on another tricky day at DLF Golf and Country Club.
Related: Nakajima, Chacarra share Hero Indian Open lead
The Spaniard entered the third round on four under par alongside defending champion Keita Nakajima at the top of the leaderboard, however two bogeys on the front nine saw him fall two shots off the pace at the turn.
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Nakajima’s run of 14 successive pars finally came to an end with a bogey on the 15th and Chacarra seized his opportunity with a birdie at the same hole to grab a share of the lead. The Japanese dropped another shot at the 17th, which saw Chacarra return to the summit.
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The 25-year-old went for the par five 18th hole in two but drew a tough lie in the rough and had to settle for a closing par to finish on three under and one ahead of Nakajima and South African Brandon Stone, who share second on two under par.
Stone made a birdie on the last to sign for a one under 71 – the joint-lowest round of the day – while Nakajima carded two bogeys and no birdies in his 74.
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Sweden’s Jens Dantorp and Englishman Matthew Jordan share fourth position on one under par, while American Troy Merritt, Dutchman Joost Luiten, Adrien Saddier of France and Norwegian Andreas Halvorsen are a shot further back in sixth.
Player Quotes:
Eugenio Chacarra: I knew when I was teeing off how the conditions were going. It was windy. It was probably the windiest day we had out there. I knew I needed a lot of patience today. I think I played great and my ball striking was incredible, like it’s been all week so that was nice.
I think I dropped shots on the front that I could have not, I was just a little too aggressive. I guess I’ve not been in competition too much this year. I feel like I tried too hard – like that eagle putt on eight from 20 feet. I need to learn from those mistakes tomorrow but I’m very pleased with this score.
This course, we know what it is and it’s just one bad swing of a big number. I’m pleased with myself, but now I just need time to reset, talk to my team and see what can we do better for tomorrow. I definitely need some work on my putting. The first two days I felt really good with my reading but I think today was a little short and a little quick with my stroke today.
I was little nervous at the start, but then I’m just grateful to play golf for a living. It’s not a thing that a lot of people can do, so I just try to have a lot of fun. When I struggled playing golf over the past couple of years, I wasn’t in a good environment with myself and I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. I changed that this year and it’s been great. I have a lot of fun out there. I can shoot one over or seven under and my goal is to just enjoy and do my best in every shot, that’s all I can do.
Keita Nakajima: I made it a no-stress day. I made 16 pars, that’s good for this golf course. My caddie told me to be patient before every shot and I played great.
I think this is the toughest golf course this year. My thinking was to be stress-free, just be patient and hit good shots. I didn’t feel like there was pressure today because I just had fun playing the golf course and stayed patient throughout.
Brandon Stone: It was unbelievable golf, if I’m honest. It sounds greedy, but I felt like I actually played somewhat better than that. I felt like I left a few birdie putts out there, but it’s something else out there. It’s brutal, the wind’s everywhere and it’s obviously gusting up quite a bit and there is no room for an erratic shot, not one. It is just the ultimate anxiety playing out there. It just feels like you’re constantly on high alert because you’ll have a four or five-foot putt and you’re so busy thinking about the next one. To shoot one under today is something I’m very proud of.
If you hit a shot that’s subpar by our standards, there’s no hope for it being okay. Shooting one under par like I have today, I’m very proud of it. But it just really shows you the teeth that DLF Golf and Country Club is showing us. I don’t think anything can prepare you for a final round. Obviously, I have been there and done that, but I haven’t been there and done that here. And the DLF is something different.
