Randhawa climbs to tied 2nd; Shiv, Ghei in contention too

Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Sep 2 (UNI) Powered by a brilliant six-under 66 card, Jyoti Randhawa was within sniffing distance of the title as he soared to tied second spot after the penultimate round at the 300,000 dollar Pulai Springs Malaysian Masters here today.

Randhawa fired five birdies and came up with a superb eagle on the par-four eighth hole to take his three-round aggregate to 16-under 200 -- two strokes off the pace.

South African Anton Haig continued to dominate and returned a three-under-par 69 for the third round lead at the inaugural Asian Tour event.

Meanwhile, Shiv Kapur and Gaurav Ghei also had an impressive outing and both were eyeing a top five finish to earn a Barclay Singapore Open qualification.

Kapur played his third successive four-under 68 card to share a tied 11th spot and giving him company, among others, was fellow Indian Gaurav Ghei who carded five-under 67 to take his tally to 12-under 204.

Randhawa, a former Asian number one, conquered the front nine with a birdie on the second hole before firing an eagle at the par four 317 yards eighth hole with another birdie on the ninth hole. He shot three more birdies against a lone bogey on the 11th as he was two strokes behind the South African.

Among other Indians, Gurbaaz Mann and Digvijay Singh were at tied 31st spot with an aggregate of nine-under 207 while SSP Chowrasia slipped further down to tied 48th.

At tied 63rd, veteran pro Arjun Singh was lying at the bottom of the basket with a three round total of one-under 215.

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