Rashid Khan has lived some memorable moments at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) here. One such moment came earlier this year when he came agonizingly close to winning his maiden Asian Tour title at the SAIl-SBI Open but lost two-way play-off to fellow countryman Anirban lahiri.
On Saturday, at the same course, he again put himself into contention with a sparkling seven-under to finish five shots behind overall leader Mohammad Siddikur (17-under 199), who played a flawless round of five-under 67 to go with his 66 and 66 in the first two rounds
SSP Chowrasia, who finished runner-up twice in the Indian open, hit 6-under for a card of 66 to lie between Rashid and Siddikur at the second position on the penultimate day of the 50th Hero Indian Open at the DGC here on Saturday.
It was a disappointing day for Rahil Gangjee (one-over 73) and Chapchai Nirat (five-over 77). Both of them played brilliantly for the first two days but suffered a major meltdown on Saturday to virtually bow out of race.
Rashid had an eventful day as he hit eight birdies, plus an eagle on eighth, and dropped three bogeys for a card of seven-under 65 to have three-day aggregate of 12-under 204. He promised to keep up the aggression on final day on Sunday.
"Tomorrow I will play with same aggression. I am following Siddikur and I need to score really big. I lost SAIl Open play off here and I want to win here. Anything can happen tomorrow," said Rashid.
Chowrasia, who finished second at the Indian Open in 1999 and 2006, struggled a bit on the first nine with a couple of wayward tee shots but bounced back on the back nine 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. I have very good memories on this course and I would like to use that to my advantage in the final round," said Chowrasia.
Siddikur, on the other hand, has been in a sublime form. He has dropped only two shots in 54 holes so far. He 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 I'm very focussed," said the Bangladeshi, who leads with a three-day total of 17-under-par 199.
"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."