Chopraa is still top Indian on a tough day; Australia’s Harrison Crowe is in lead

Krishnav Nikhil Chopraa of India plays a tee stroke on the 2nd tee on Round 1 of the 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship being played at the Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand on Thursday, October 27, 2022. Photograph by AAC. 

Khel Today Bureau

Chonburi: Krishnav Nikhil Chopraa is still the best placed Indian as he shot 2-over 74 and was placed T-39 at the end of the third round of the 13th Asia Pacific Amateur Championship. He improved by three spots.

Two-time All India Amateur champion Aryan Roopa Anand also carded 2-over 74 each and Shaurya Bhattacharya shot 75. Aryan was T-44 and Shaurya was T-46 at the Amata Spring Country Club

The 21-year-old Australian Harrison Crowe, a debutant at the Asia Pacific Amateurs shot a bogey free 5-under 67 as some of the favoured stars, including overnight leader, Bo Jin (71) and the second placed duo, Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat (76) and Wooyoung Cho (74) slipped on the leader board. Cho, who had three bogeys and a double in his first 10 holes is tied seventh.

‘TK’ Chantananuwat had the biggest fall to tied 19th as he had two bogeys and two doubles in his last seven holes as he fell from tied second.

Bo, whose brother, Cheng who won this title in 2015, is down to tied second after leading at halfway stage.

China’s 17-year-old Wenyi Ding, the reigning US Junior Amateur champion, who is assured of a US Open berth by virtue of that wi, is now in contention for the AAC, where the winner gets a spot to the Masters and the Open.

Chopraa started from the 10th, and bogeyed four times 11th, 13th, 15th and 18th against one birdie on the Par-3 Island Green 17th. He had two birdies and a bogey on front nine, which was his second nine.

Aryan, also starting from 10th, was 4-over after first seven holes, but recovered slightly with three birdies and one bogey in the remaining 11 holes.

Shaurya birdied 11th, bogeyed 14 and 15 and then on the second nine, he parred only the first and ninth. In between he had three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.

Crowe, who turned 21 last month, with two birdies on the front nine and three more on the back nine, including one on the Par-3 Island Green on 17th, was 3-under and leader by two.

Crowe’s success in 2022 include the Australian Master of the Amateurs and the New South Wales Amateur in January and then in March won the PGA Tour of Australasia’s New South Wales Open. An AAC win will take him to the Masters and the Open, but he would need to stay amateur, a choice he will make after this week. If he does not win, he will professional.

Bo, third at the 2021 AAC, had three bogeys and three birdies in his 71 and was 11-under alongside debutant 18-year-old Minhyuk Song, who had a colourful card with an eagle, five birdies, one bogey and one double bogey in a 68, was also 11-under.