New Delhi: An error-free round on the moving day and a putting masterclass on the back nine meant Japan’s Keita Nakajima knocked overnight leader Tommy Fleetwood off his perch and led the field by two shots going into the final day of $4 million DP World India Championship at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) course here.
Japan’s Keita Nakajima took a 2-shot lead after carding 7-under 65 in the third round of the DP World India Championship at the Delhi Golf Club course on Saturday. (DP World India Championship)
Nakajima, 25, carded a bogey-free 7-under 65 – joint best card of the day to go 17-under for the tournament – to stay in hunt for a second DP World Tour title on Indian soil after his wire-to-wire win at the Hero Indian Open in March 2024.
Nakajima’s Saturday surge was a reward for his consistency. He was second on the leaderboard on Day 1 and slipped two places on Day 2, but Day 3 saw him take charge right from the first tee which he birdied from 10 feet. More birdies arrived on holes 5, 6, and 8 out of which the last two could have been eagles but for the putts stopping just short.
Trailing Fleetwood by a solitary stroke after the front nine, Nakajima unfurled his precise iron play and short game on the back nine to catch up. He drew level with the Englishman on the par 3 12th where he sank a 40-foot birdie putt and nosed ahead on the next hole with a 12-foot birdie.
The putter stayed hot on the par-5 14th as well as Nakajima sank a birdie from 19 feet to bolster the lead. He very nearly fluffed his lines on this hole when his second shot landed in the greenside bunker, but a clinical 38-yard chip gave him the chance at recovery, which he gleefully accepted.
Done with his round, Nakajima thanked Irishman Shane Lowry, his playing partner, for a successful day. “I played with Lowry. I love his swing tempo and I copied that from him. That’s why my swing was better than yesterday (Friday). The course had a tough back nine, but my tee shots were great today,” he said.
Nakajima’s success in India is not surprising considering he has gone on record to profess his love for Indian courses. Besides winning the Indian Open last year, he was second at the same tournament this year, on the DLF course in Gurugram.
“Both courses are tough, but this course is more lay-up. There’s no need to drive on this course. Greens were pretty much the same today as other golf courses. I’m feeling great and I have the confidence to play again. I have had two good tournaments in India already so I always had the confidence. One more day, just keep going,” he said.
Lying third behind Nakajima and Fleetwood is Lowry (69), at 14-under. The 2019 Open champion had three birdies on the front nine, but the back nine was mixed, with two birdies and bogeys each. Jens Dantorp, Alex Fitzpatrick, Daniel Hillier and Brian Harman are tied fourth on 13-under. World No.2 Rory McIlroy (68) was T-15 at 10-under.
Halfway leader Fleetwood kept his lead for the better part of the day after three birdies on the front nine. However, he struggled on the back nine, missing a few makeable birdies. He parred the first seven holes before making a bogey on the 17th, dropping a shot after 36 holes.
He was fortunate on the 18th after his wayward shot to the left of the fairway took a lucky bounce off a tree and rolled back, helping him to chip and putt for a closing birdie. “My pace was pretty rubbish all day, but I made really good putts later. I had a five-hole stretch where I didn’t putt very well. I’ll try and fix it now and then we’ll go again tomorrow,” the Tour Championship winner said.
India’s best on the leaderboard was Dhruv Sheoran, who produced a 5-under 67 with six birdies to be T-25. Local man Shiv Kapur (70) was T-42 with Shubhankar Sharma (71) at 5-under. Anirban Lahiri (73) was T-58 at 2-under and Abhinav Lohan (73) was T-63 at 1-under.
