Zen Dharmaratne gets Hole in One

Siva Take the Lead in Kelantan:

Tour winner opens up four-stroke advantage going into the last round S. Sivachandhran shot the low round of the tournament thus far to take the lead in the PGM Tour’s Kelantan Classic at Kelantan Golf & Country Club in Kota Bharu, Kelantan yesterday.

A runner-up earlier this season and a past champion of the Tour, Siva carded a six-under-par 66 that gave him a four-stroke lead on 205 going into the fourth and final day of the RM150,000 tournament on Malaysia’s east coast.

The third round was also highlighted by a hole-in-one from rookie Zen Dharmaratne, who aced the 142-yard sixth hole with a pitching wedge.

Speaking of his perfect shot on the 6th hole, Dharmaratne said he was bubbling with joy.

“This is my first hole-in-one ever and I am very, very happy,” added the player who finished third in the PGM Satellite event at Kinrara in January and turned pro thereafter. “I played it like any other tee shot, only this time it found the hole – it was fantastic”

Dharmaratne carded three straight even-par rounds to sit in a tie for 18th place on 216. Siva, who shot 71 and 68 over the first two days, said he was looking forward to doing the same as he bids to win for the first time since his triumph in Melaka in 2011.

Siva’s round had seven birdies on the card – his only blemish being the bogey at the par-3 12th.

“I hit the ball solidly,” he said afterwards. “But, I also got a few lucky breaks, in that when I did get into trouble, I was able to recover quite well on most occasions,”

The soft-spoken 31-year-old added: “It will be my game plan to just go out there tomorrow (in the fourth round) and keep doing the same things – trying to keep it simple and play it hole by hole.”

Haziq Hamizan, who started well but slipped down the leader-board after a one-over 73 on day two, bounced back with a five-under 68 that moved him back into the runner-up’s spot on 209.

A couple of bogeys by Haziq were countered by an eagle on the par-5 14th hole and four birdies, which included the three-hole stretch from the 14th to 16th that he played in four-under.

Khor Kheng Hwai (68), runner-up at the A’Famosa Classic two weeks ago, and Shaaban Hussin (71) were tied for third on 210, while Azman Basharuddin (68), Nicholas Pua (69), Arie Fauzi (69), Sukree Othman (69) and overnight leader Airil Rizman (73) were joint fifth, a stroke further back.

Kenneth De Silva (68) was 10th on four-under, while first round pace-setter S. Murthy (74) was in 11th at 213, and M. Ramayah (70) and Lam Yu Shuen (75) tied for 12th on two-under-par.

Courtesy: damarugolf.com