Arjun Singh takes six stroke lead

Defending champion Arjun Singh consolidated his position on top of the leaderboard at the end of the penultimate day of the Rs 2.5 million Honda-Siel PGA Championship, at the par-71 DLF Golf and Country Club, when he opened a six-stroke lead over his nearest challenger on a high-scoring day on Saturday.

In the biggest tournament on the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour, Arjun submitted his third straight sub-par card of two-under 69, and was nine-under 204 for the three days.

Gaurav Ghei was in second place at three-under 210, while current Money List leader, Mukesh Kumar, and Vijay Kumar were tied for the third place a stroke behind. Ghei had finished one-over 72 today, while Mukesh shot a 69 and Vijay an even-par 71.

Vivek Bhandari, the champion in 1997, had the day's best round of three-under 68 which propelled him to 10th place. Twice champion Uttam Singh Mundy was fifth at 212, while Feroz Ali and Harmeet Kahlon were tied for the sixth place at 213.

Arjun, who is all set to become the first player to defend his Honda-Siel PGA Championship title after having won last year in similar dominating fashion at the Delhi Golf Club, began in a shaky fashion when he hit his tee shot into the right rough and made a bogey on the first hole. On the second, his tee shot got stymied against a tree and he saved a great par after punching the ball out to 15 yards short of the green and made an up-and-down from there.

A 15-feet birdie putt on the fourth got Arjun going, but he made another bogey on the fifth from the center of the fairway after his ball unfortunately collected mud and his 4-iron second shot flew left of the green. Thereafter, Arjun was on fire as he made birdies on the sixth, seventh, ninth and 11th. On the 12th, Arjun made a bogey from the fairway bunker and had another on the par-3 16th. However, a birdie on the 17th ensured a card of 69 for him.

"I was patchy today. Overall, I am not happy with my swing, but I played some good shots. You cannot relax on the final day, even with a six-stroke lead. Gaurav is capable of shooting very low numbers. I am just going to stick to my gameplan and see what happens," said Arjun when asked whether he would resort to safety-first methods on the final day.

Ghei, who started the day tied for the second place at four-under along with South African Wallie Coetsee and Yusuf Ali of Kolkata, finished in sole possession of the spot. The Delhi pro was erratic with his driver and was getting himself into trouble throughout the better part of first nine holes. However, he regrouped himself in the back nine and birdies on the 16th and 17th helped him finish the day at one-over 72, inclusive of five bogies and four birdies.

"I would be very surprised if Arjun messes up tomorrow. He is playing extremely solid golf to give anybody else a chance. I am hoping that I can fix my driving problem and give him a fight," said Ghei before heading off for the driving range.

Mukesh was looking good nick and an eagle on the par-5 sixth got him going. A birdie on the seventh was offset by a bogey on the eighth. An unfortunate double bogey on the 13th, was followed by back-to-back birdies before another bogey on the 16th gave him a card of 69.

Coetsee was even-par after 11 holes but finished badly. A double bogey on the 13th and a triple on the 17th saw his chances diving and he finished with a 79. Yusuf Ali dropped four strokes in last three holes to finish with a 76.

SCORES (after 54 holes): 204 _ Arjun Singh (69,66,69); 210 _ Gaurav Ghei (68,70,72); 211 _ Mukesh Kumar (72,70,69), Vijay Kumar (69,71,71); 212 _ Uttam Singh Mundy (69,72,71); 213 _ Feroz Ali (71,70,72), Harmeet Kahlon (71,69,73); 214 _ Rahil Gangjee (75,69,70), Yusuf Ali (70,68,76); 215 _ Vivek Bhandari (74,73,68); 216 _ Ashok Kumar (70,69,77); 217 _ Digvijay Singh (73,75,69).

Amateurs: 219 _ Manav Jaini (73,72,74); 232 _ Anitya Chand (77,75,80).

Earlier reports:

Day 2: Arjun Singh surges ahead with 5-under 66
Day 1: Ghei leads with a three-under 68

Earlier reports:

Day 2: Arjun Singh surges ahead with 5-under 66
Day 1: Ghei leads with a three-under 68