Jbe Kruger of South Africa shot two eagles in a flawless third round to jump to a one-stroke lead in the Indian Masters on Saturday.
Kruger’s 66 left him 11-under for the tournament, one ahead of the trio of Peter Whiteford of Scotland, Germany’s Marcel Siem and Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonnet.
Just three shots separate the top 15, promising high drama in Sunday’s final round at the par-72 DLF Golf and Country Club on the outskirts of New Delhi.
Jose Manuel Lara of Spain, who shared the day’s best score of eight-under 64 with Argentine Tano Goya, was two strokes behind the leader in a group of six including Australian Marcus Fraser who had a third consecutive 69.
Five others were just three strokes away.
Kruger’s first eagle came at the par-five, when he holed a 20-foot putt and then repeated the feat at the 15th, holing a putt from the top of the green.
A bogey-free round gave the 25-year-old South African a good chance to secure his maiden European Tour title.
“I’m going to try and play how I played today,” Kruger said of the final round. “If it’s meant to be my week, it’ll be mine, so I don’t want to think too far ahead yet.
“The putts need to go in and I think that’s what defines the winner. I’ve been reading the greens a little better. I’m improving and am a lot more experienced. That will give me the edge.”
Whiteford, who led after the first two rounds at 10-under, returned a par score after bogeys on the sixth and 17th which cost him the outright lead.
“I’m raging,” the 31-year-old Scot said. “I’ve let everyone back in it with that score. If I had managed a three or four-under, I would have had a good lead.”
India’s richest golf event has been tri-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours and the Professional Golf Tour of India.