Scalise turns on the accelerator

Hailing from Monza, the Italian city just outside Milan and famous for its F1 Grand Prix racing, Lorenzo Scalise knows a thing or two about turning on the accelerator and pulling clear of heavy traffic. The 27-year-old, after nicely warming up his engines the first two days, switched gears in fine fashion on a scorching Saturday to seize the lead in the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge.

Accurate off the tee and sharp on the greens, Scalise fired a flawless seven-under 65 — the best show by any golfer in the third round — to total 15-under 201 for a two-shot lead at the Karnataka Golf Association. Om Prakash Chouhan produced a stunning six-under 66 to rise up to tied second along with Victor Pastor, Rikard Karlberg and Ashley Chesters, ensuring an Indian is in the leader-group on the final day.

Playing in the bunch just ahead of the leader-group, Scalise was superb on the day as he literally played an error-free round that has put him in good position to finally break his title duck on the European Challenge Tour following two runner-up finishes and third position finishes each. Having sussed up the tight course nicely over the last two days, he finally unleashed the round that he was desiring for.

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He got off to a rollicking start, nailing a hat-trick of birdies on the opening three holes. With momentum firmly on his side, Scalise chose to play aggressive golf and with his driving and approach shots being solid and accurate, he constantly set himself up for birdie opportunities. He found his fourth of the day on the par-5 fifth, where he made a good up and down from the edge of the green.

Sadly, he couldn’t pick up more birdies on the front nine despite being in good positions. He ended that barren run on the 12th where he birdied following a superb approach shot from 120 yards that landed the ball very close to the pin. He then sunk birdies on the 14th and 16th to nudge ahead of a crowded pack.

“It feels very great to be in the lead heading into the final round,” said a delighted Scalise. “I figured that to be successful in this course, you have to be accurate with your driving and that’s what I did very well today. My short game was also good and that’s why I was able to shoot so low today. However, all this counts for nothing If I’m not able to convert this into my first win tomorrow.”

Leading scores (after 54 holes, Indians unless mentioned): 201: Lorenzo Scalise (ITA, 68, 68, 65); 203: Om Prakash Chouhan (70, 67, 66), Victor Pastor (ESP, 72, 64, 67), Rikard Karlberg (SWE, 68, 66, 69), Ashley Chesters (WAL, 67, 68, 68); 205: Niall Kearney (IRE, 68, 71, 66), Oliver Farr (WAL, 64, 71, 70), Craig Howie (SCO, 69, 69, 67); 206: Lorenzo Gagli (ITA, 68, 70, 68), Elias Bartheussen (NOR, 71, 69, 66); Aman Raj (67, 68, 71), Liam Johnston (SCO, 68, 68, 70).