Unheralded Indian golf pro heads into Round 4 as stars lurk in $1.25 million tournament.

By Prateek Srivastava

C. Muniyappa carded a penultimate round of one-under 71 to lead the Indian Open at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon on Saturday. Marcus Both, Digvijay Singh, Harinder Gupta and Lee Sung trail the Indian by one stroke.

Muniyappa (66, 69, 71), who started Round 3 sharing the lead with Korean Sung, finished with a three-round aggregate of 10-under-par 206, but only after a dramatic hole No. 18.

On the par-five 18th, Muniyappa was lodged in the greenside bunker and when clearing a wrapper from behind the ball, he appeared to brush the sand with his club head. This could have led to a penalty shot but after reviewing TV footage, the rule book and officials standing close to the bunker, tournament director David Parkin cleared the Indian of any infringement.

Earlier in the day, Muniyappa showed his class and mental strength. Even after conceding his slender lead, he birdied three holes on-the-trot starting from the sixth. "I am very, very happy that it is all over. It was a nervous wait for the ruling towards the end," said Muniyappa, who has just one professional title in his kitty so far.

Indian sensation Ganganjeet Bhullar made up for his ineffective display in the first two rounds with a 68 to be tied 20th. Arjun Atwal (tied 17th) too strengthened his position with a 70. However, the 2005 US Open winner Michael Campbell of New Zealand struggled all day to return a lowly card of 78.

Both and Harinder had to gain some ground to stay in contention and they did it in style with a 67 each. Both predicted it is going to be a great fight on Sunday.
"It is really a packed leaderboard, so it's wide open. Surprisingly nobody really made a move today. It is nice to be in contention again and I am playing quite well, so I hope to be in the mix tomorrow," Both said.

After carding a 71, Indian pro Digvijay suggested that if it was not for the fear of his injured wrist holding up, his day could have been sweeter. "My wrist injury has made me a little apprehensive of fading the ball, so I'm trying to minimize the number of fades I need to play. Anyone who is at six under or better today will stand a chance in the final round. Thirteen (under) to 14 under could be the winning score," said Singh.

Leaderboard, Round 3: 1. C. Muniyappa (IND) (10-under 206) 2. Marcus Both, Digvijay Singh (IND), Harinder Gupta (IND), Lee Sung (KOR) (9-under 207). 6. Adam Blyth (AUS), Jbe Kruger (RSA), Kwanchai Tannin (THA) (8-under 208) 9. Mukesh Kumar (IND) (7-under 209) 10. Gaurav Ghei (IND), Antonio Lascuna (PHI), Unho Park (AUS), Ashok Kumar (IND), Amandeep Johl (IND), Mars Pukay (PHI), Jason King (AUS) (6-under 210).