Atwal stays in the hunt; Cuello opens two-stroke lead

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 4: Veteran Rodrigo Cuello from the Philippines eagled the final hole to open a two-stroke lead on top of the leaderboa...

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 4: Veteran Rodrigo Cuello from the Philippines eagled the final hole to open a two-stroke lead on top of the leaderboard after the penultimate round of the 200,000 Hero Honda Masters, being played at the DLF Golf amp; Country Club, today.

Cuello8217;s brilliant 4-iron second shot left him with a four-feet eagle putt which helped him to 14-under 202 for the tournament after a five-under 67 round. Arjun Atwal of India and Andrew Pitts of the United States were tied for the second place at 12-under 204, while Order of Merit No 2, Simon Dyson of England was alone at the fifth place with 11-under 205.

Mukesh Kumar, the No 1 player last season on the Wills Sport Indian Golf Tour, shot the day8217;s best card of six-under 66 to leapfrog to joint seventh place with big-hitting South African Sammy Daniels at 10-under 206. Local favourite Gaurav Ghei endured a two-stroke penalty for reporting late on the tee but still managed a three-under 69 round to be tied for the seventh place along with defending champion Jyoti Randhawa at nine-under 207.

Cuello, winless on the Asian PGA Davidoff Tour since 1997 Omega PGA Championship, began with five successive pars before making back-to-back birdies on the par-5 sixth and seventh holes. He then made a birdie from the front bunker on the ninth to be three-under at the turn. On the back nine, he made a birdie on the 10th and a three-putt bogey on the 16th before closing with the eagle.

Atwal, who shot his third successive 68, began with a superb pitching wedge second shot on the first hole that left him with a birdie putt of less than one feet. He then sank a superb 15-footer for another birdie on the fourth and picked up another stroke two holes later on the sixth where he exploded out of the front bunker and drained a four-footer. On the ninth, he saved a superb par after his second shot entered the water hazard.

On the back nine, Atwal three-putted for a bogey on the 16th, but added two birdies. quot;I have just one bogey on each day so far, all of them coming because of three-putts. But I can8217;t complain about my game right now. What8217;s good is that I am not making mistakes, which should give me a good chance tomorrow,quot; said the winner of 1999 Wills Indian Open.

Pitts, currently ranked 10th on the Order of Merit, made two birdie putts of 15 feet, but still appeared unhappy with his game on the green. On the other hand, Randhawa missed several birdie opportunities as his putts came agonisingly close to the hole but refused to drop in. His first birdie of the day came on the fourth. On the par-5 sixth, his eagle putt from 12 feet kissed the lip but stayed out. He made the turn at three-under, but a three-putt bogey on the 14th ruined his chances completely.

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SCORES after 54 holes:202 8212; Rodrigo Cuello 72,63,67; 204 8212; Arjun Atwal 68,68,68, Andrew Pitts 69,68,67; 205 8212; Simon Dyson 70,67,68; 206 8212; Mukesh Kumar 73,67,66, Scott Kammonn 66,70,70; 207 8212; Gaurav Ghei 69,69,69, Sammy Daniels 70,67,70, Clay Devers 69,68,70, Jyoti Randhawa 72,64,71; 208 8212; Chris Williams 70,69,69; 209 8212; Harmeet Kahlon 71,69,69, Yeh Wei-tze 72,66,71; 210 8212; Mike Cunning 70,71,69, Aaron Meeks 71,69,70, Scott Taylor 74,65,71 OTHER INDIAN SCORES:212 8212; Amandeep Johl 70,69,73, Rahil Gangjee Am 71,70,71; 213 8212; Jeev Milkha Singh 71,70,72, Uttam Singh Mundy 69,70,74, Basad Ali 74,71,68, Indrajit Bhalotia 72,72,69; 214 8212; Jaiveer Virk 75,70,69, Digvijay Singh 70,70,74, Ali Sher 66,74,72; 216 8212; Rahul Ganapathy 76,70,70; 217 8212; Devendra Patel 72,73,72