JOIN USLocal lad Trishul Chinnappa stepped on the accelerator in brilliant fashion to strengthen his grip on the Tata Steel Southern India Amateur Golf Championship here on Thursday.
The 19-year-old teenager, who has been in lead since the opening round, shot a blistering third-round five-under 67 to increase his lead to four shots (208) and prime himself for maiden glory at his home Karnataka Golf Association.
After appearing to wither away with a scratchy show in the opening half when he trailed by six shots, Trishul’s friend and club-mate Udayan Mane bounced back with a fine second-nine charge, carding two-under 70 to stay second at 212.
Ainesh Aluwalia rose to third at 216 following his 69 on a wonderful day for golf where as many as eight players went under par with another local amateur too dishing out a sparkling show -- Jaibir Singh matching Trishul’s card of 67.
After playing its usual difficult self for the last two days, the KGA finally appeared kind on a beautiful morning where the sun hardly made an appearance. With hardly any trace of wind and pin positions also not very demanding, Trishul knew he had a great chance to turn on the screw.
Trishul didn’t allow the chance to go abegging as he covered the front nine in a scorching four-under. On the third hole, he sunk a 25-footer birdie followed it up with a brilliant 30-footer on the very next hole before completing a hat-trick with a 20-footer on the fifth to seize the initiative.
Leading by a commanding six shots at turn, Trishul then witnessed a stunning fightback from playing partner Udayan as things began to heat up. Going for broke, Udayan attacked the pins with ferocity as he birdied the 10th, eagled the 11th and then birdied the 12th -- all three set up by his monstrous hitting.
With enough experience on the junior and amateur circuit, Trishul, however, maintained his composure despite the onslaught from Udayan, managing a birdie on 11th and saving good pars on a couple of holes to maintain his lead.
After bogeying a shot on the 14th, Trishul birdied the 15th and 16th but dropped a shot for the second time on the 17th hole. But, with Udayan too dropping a shot on the 13th and going out of bounds on the closing 18th, Trishul retired for the day with a sizeable advantage.DH News ServiceLeading scores (after 54 holes): 208: Trishul Chinnappa (69, 72, 67); 212: Udayan Mane (71, 71, 70); 216: Ainesh Ahluwalia (72, 75, 69); 217: Ankur Chadha (72, 76, 69), Vikram Rana (72, 75, 70), Aman Raj (71, 72, 74); 218: Jaibir Singh (74, 77, 67), Hemendra Chaudhary (73, 75, 70); 219: Manu Gandas (74, 72, 73); 220: Nikhil S Sekhawat (71, 78, 71); 221: Syed Saqib Ahmed (75, 72, 74), Pratap Atwal (75, 71, 75).