SPORT
Shiv Kapur, swinging well in Thailand. Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai based Shiv Kapur (Ind) shot an impressive third round of four under par 66 to move up the leaderboard to tied 24th in the Laguna Phuket Championship played at Laguna Phuket, Thailand on the Asian Tour.

After making the cut on the mark at one over par 141, Kapur bagged six birdies against just two bogies in a significant round on moving day.

On completing his round Kapur said “It was a very windy day in tough conditions with, in my opinion, the pins tucked away more than in the first two rounds. It is great to bounce back after yesterday’s disappointments and I am looking forward to continuing this momentum in tomorrow’s (Sunday) final round.”

Leading from the first round is Bio Kim (South Korea) with a third round 71 and a three round total of 11 under par, 199.

The 31 year old is a six-time winner on the Korean PGA Tour but is looking for his first title on the Asian Tour, having made it through Qualifying School in 2020.

Recent form suggests he will not be far away tomorrow: he was joint fourth last week at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship and claimed the LG Signature Players Championship last month on the Korean PGA Tour.

Kim takes a one stroke lead from Panuphol Pittayarat (Thai) and Phachara Khongwatmai (Thai) with a total of 19 players all within six shots with nine of these from the host country of Thailand.

Final event

A blanket photo finish could well be seen in this final event on the Asian Tour’s 2021 calendar.

Jumeirah Golf Estates Ambassador MG Keyser (RSA) shot a 67 to move upto tied 15th on five under.

Of the MENA Tour invites Ryan Lumsden (Scot) leads the way on seven under par in tied 8th place.

Kapur tees off in his final round at 8.50 am tomorrow (Sunday) with the Thai pairing of Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Suteepat Prateeptienchai.

Leading Scores after Round 3
199 – B. Kim (South Korea) 62-66-71.
200 – P. Pittayarat (Thai) 68-64-68, P. Khongwatmai (Thai) 66-65-69.
202 – Y. Chang (South Korea) 69-65-68, P. Meesawat (Thai) 68-65-69, N. Srithong (Thai) 68-64-70, C. Dejpiratanamongkol (Thai) 63-67-72.
203 – D. Kemmer (USA) 70-69-64, D. Boriboonsub (Thai) 69-68-66, R. Lumsden (Sco) 68-67-68, S. Lewton (Eng) 66-68-69, K. Hamamoto (Thai) 66-67-70.
204 – J. Kim (South Korea) 66-69-69, S. Hend (Aus) 71-63-70.