Siddikur Rahman has notched his third consecutive round of 68 to take a one-shot lead into the final round at the Sail SBI Open as emerging Australian Matthew Stieger remains in the hunt. Siddikur of Bangladesh held off reigning champion Anirban Lahiri, who produced the equal-best round of the day at Delhi Golf Club, a bogey-free six-under 66 to take second spot on the leaderboard at 11 under. Lahiri led a pair of fellow Indians with Khalin H Joshi a shot further back in third place in the Asian Tour event, while Rashid Khan sat in fourth spot on nine under. Joshi and Siddikur started Friday&aposs third round of the Sail SBI Open in a tie for the lead and the former began with consecutive birdies. But a bogey on the third hole was followed by another two on the front nine, while Siddikur claimed three birdies to move four shots clear of his Indian rival. Siddikur overcame a bogey on the 13th hole with birdies on the 14th and 16th to post a four-under 68 and finish 12-under overall with a round to play in New Delhi. Lahiri was one of two competitors to post a 66, birdying the final two holes to stay in with a chance of back-to-back titles at the Delhi Golf Club. Up and coming Australian Stieger also birdied the final two holes to card a four-under 68 and take a share of seventh, five shots behind Siddikur. Stieger was the best-placed Australian ahead of Adam Groom (five under), Scott Hend (four under) and Jake Higginbottom (three under). Meanwhile, South Korean Inbee Park leads the field at the halfway point of the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship. Park carded a superb seven-under 65 on Friday at the Mission Hills Sandbelt Trails course to take a one-shot lead over Spaniard Carlota Ciganda in the Ladies European Tour event. Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, Italian Veronica Zorzi and South Korean Suh Bo-Mi are tied for third, four shots off the pace. After shooting a four-under 68 on day one, Park started superbly with two birdies from her first three holes giving her early confidence. And Park continued to impress with a pair of birdies as she closed out the front nine. More success was to come in the latter stages of the day, as the blemish-free Park hit three birdies from the last five holes she played, giving her an overall score of 11-under par for the tournament. A shot behind is Ciganda, who hit nine birdies in a stunning, error-free 63. Pettersen is one of three players at seven under, with the experienced campaigner hitting a five-under 67, while Zorzi shot the same score thanks to an eagle at 18. Suh was one of several players unable to complete their second round on Friday, she will resume early Saturday three under through 16 holes. A pair of South Koreans Soo Jin Yang and Kim Hyo-Joo are tied for sixth at six under, while a further four players are tied for eight at five under. Chinese duo Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin hit scores of 69 and 67 respectively, while Englishwoman Trish Johnson and Australian Kristie Smith are also locked at five under, the latter through 14 holes.
Author: Omnisport