ROUND 1
ROUND 2
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New Delhi, May 15, 2009: Vijay Kumar held on to his lead at the DDA Open Golf Championship after firing three under 67 in round three on Friday. Vijay thus took his total to 11 under 199. Ashok Kumar’s four under 66 helped him climb to second place as his total read 10 under 200. Mukesh Kumar, C Muniyappa, Pappan and R Murthy are a further stroke behind in tied third place.

Vijay Kumar (64, 68, 67) had a shaky start in the third round as he made bogey on the second hole. He then rallied to pick up three birdies (fourth, seventh, eighth) on the front nine. Vijay’s birdie on the 11th, was however, negated by a bogey on the very next hole. Thereafter, the 40-year-old from Lucknow sank birdies on the 15th and 16th before closing with a bogey on the 18th.

“I had a good round today. I hit it close on most occasions but my putting was not up to the mark. I missed quite a few putts between eight to ten feet. My longest putt for birdie was a 25-footer on the seventh. I hit it very close to the pin on the 11th, 15th and 16th which turned out to be birdies,” said Vijay.

He added, “I was going very well on the back nine but on the par four 18th, a three-putt from 25 feet resulted in a bogey. I’m now eager to win this title since I haven’t won in the last four years. But it could be anyone’s game as there are a lot of contenders in this crowded leaderboard. One needs to shoot a seven or eight under to win on the final day.”

Ashok Kumar (65, 69, 66) is certain to provide a stiff challenge to Vijay in round four. Ashok is just one stroke off the lead at the moment. On Friday, the Delhi golfer made eight birdies against four bogeys in his round of 66.

Ashok said, “I’m glad to be in contention heading into the final day. I hit it well today but my chipping and putting did not seem to click. I struggled with chip shots from about 30 to 40 yards and my longest putt of the day was a 15-footer for birdie on the 13th.”

Mukesh Kumar and Pappan produced rounds of five under 65 to be tied third at nine under 201. C Muniyappa (69) and R Murthy (67) also share third place with Mukesh and Pappan.

Amardip Sinh Malik occupies seventh place at eight under 202. He shot 69 in round three.
Digvijay Singh, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Mandeo Singh Pathania are tied eighth with identical scores of seven under 203.

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