Ferrari fan Scalise zooms to 2-shot lead

BENGALURU: On a brilliant day for golf, Italian Lorenzo Scalise, a huge Ferrari fan, found an extra gear to charge to the top of the leaderboard with a stupendous bogey-free seven-under 65 in the third round of the of the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge at the KGA here on Saturday.
The 27-year-old, who was three shots behind leader Manuel Elvira, took his three-day tally to 15-under 201 for a two-shot lead.India’s Om Prakash Chouhan, who found his touch with a six-under 66, shared the second spot with Rikard Karlberg (69), Viktor Pastor (67) and Ashley Chesters (68). Elvira (74) had a poor day to drop down the leaderboard.
India’s Aman Raj (71), tied third overnight and who shared the lead briefly after a birdie on the 12th, suffered a meltdown with three bogeys to slip to the tied 10th spot. Aryan Roopa Anand (72) was tied 17th on eight-under 208, while M Dharma (71) and R Mari Muthu (72) were tied 25th a shot further back.
With two top five finishes in four starts this season, Scalise was consistent right through. The Italian, with rounds of 68 and 68 on the first two days, got off to stupendous start with a hat-trick of birdies to go to the top of the leaderboard. He picked up further shots on the fifth and 12th holes to go to 13-under.
Karlberg and Aman, playing two groups behind, joined Scalise at the top briefly. But the Italian holed a 12-footer for birdie on the 14th and sank a 25-footer to go to 15-under. There was no looking back thereafter as Scalise left the rest of the field to play catch-up.
He did find himself in a little bit of trouble when he found the woods on the left with his drive on the 17th hole. But he played a brilliant second shot through a small gap on to the green that elicited a lot of ‘oohs and aahs’ from the motley crowd. He duly two-putted to walk away unscathed.
“I’m very pleased today,” he said. “I hit it great off the tee and put myself in some great positions. My putting was very good, and I only left myself short-sided once. Hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow,” said Scalise.
Like the Italian, Chouhan, a seven-time winner on the PGTI, found his touch at the right time. The pro from Mhow could have joined Scalise at the top if not for the unfortunate double bogey six on the 12th hole. He landed on the divot — which was sadly not repaired — with his tee shot and duffed his next shot and found the hazard. He quickly put that setback behind him with four birdies on the last five holes to stay within striking distance of the leader. “I didn’t let that (double bogey) affect my game. I was pleased with a very strong finish,” said Chouhan.
Leading scores (after 54 holes): 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 (Eng, 67, 68, 68). Select (Indians only): 206: Aman Raj (67, 68, 71, T-10); 208: Aryan Roopa Anand (68, 68, 72, T-17); 209: M Dharma (67, 71, 71) R Mari Muthu (68, 69, 72, T-25).