Kartik fights in bad weather to get into Top-20 midway through third round at AAC

Kartik Singh of India shelters under an umbrella during the continuation of round two of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship being played at the Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba, Japan on Saturday 05 October 2024. Photograph by AAC.

Khel Today Bureau

GOTEMBA, Japan: Kartik Singh was lying Tied-19^th after nine holes in the third round of the 2024 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at Taiheiyo Golf Club, which has been hit by bad weather.

Playing through the rain, Kartik, who like his teammates had to wait the whole of Friday to see action, played the second round in a fine 3-under 67 to get to 2-under and was T-14. He started the third with bogeys on the first two holes but parred the next seven to fall to even par for two and a half rounds and was now T-19.

The other Indians to make the cut were Krishnav Chopraa (77) and Rakshit Dahiya (71).

Chopraa was then 1-over through his seven holes in the third round. Dahiya after fighting to make the cut with a fine 71 in the second round was 2-over through six holes in the third and his total is 8-over.  Chopraa was T-40^th and Dahiya was T-53.

The only Indian to miss the cut was Vedant Sirohi (69-81).

Kartik said, “It was very wet and the course was playing long. I did my best and had a couple of very good wedge shots that were inside three feet for birdies. I also missed a couple of chances, including in the third round. I have one and a half rounds and I am liking the challenge of this course,” said the smiling 14-year-old Kartik.

The six and a half weather delay on Friday led to players returning first to resume their second rounds and then started the third on Saturday. With no player having completed his third round, all will need to finish the third and then start the fourth round.

Japan’s home favourite Rintaro Nakano finished the second round with a one-stroke lead at seven-under, one shot clear of Randy Bintang and Wenyi Ding.

After four holes in the third round, Nakano was 8-under for 40 holes and Nakano has a four-foot par putt left on the fifth hole, and is expected to play 31 holes tomorrow.

Wenyi Ding (67-67) was even through four holes and was also on the fifth in the third round.

Malaysia’s Rizq Adam Rohizam was the first to make a move towards the lead with a birdie at the second hole. Rohizam and Ding sit two shots back of Nakano’s mark of eight-under at six-under, while Bintang, Cooper Moore, China’s Ziqin Zhou and the Republic of Korea’s Seong Hyeon Ah sit three shots back at five-under. An picked up two shots in his first seven holes of the third round with birdies at the second and fifth.

The most anyone had played in the third round was 12 holes with six left and the least was four holes played with 14 left.

The third round was suspended for the day at 5:05 p.m. due to darkness.  The third round will be completed early Sunday morning before the final round gets underway later in the morning.