Race to Asian Tour Card: Ahlawat Leads 8 Indians into Final Round

Hua Hin (Thailand), Dec 29 (PTI) Veer Ahlawat led eight Indians into the crucial fifth and final round of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage on Saturday.

Veer shot a fine three-under 68 to get to 11-under 273 and was Tied-18th after 72 holes.

The top 70 and ties after the fourth round will play the fifth and final round, after which the Top-35 and ties will be ranked accordingly for 2019 starts.

While Veer was the best Indian in T-18, the other Indians who squeezed into the Top-70 included Abhijit Chadha (67) and Chiragh Kumar (69) at 10-under and Tied-20th respectively.

Aman Raj (68) fought back after a disappointing third round of 74, moving up to T-27th at nine-under, while Aadil Bedi (68) was eight-under and T-36th. Amardip Malik (67) also made a good move up to T-42nd at seven-under.

Veer said, "I'm hitting it well and reading my putts right. I'm confident heading into the final round of Qualifying School. This is my third attempt at Qualifying School.

"I'll be looking to apply my experience and hopefully, earn a Tour card for the upcoming season. I turned professional three years ago. I have a few second-placed finishes on the PGTI (Professional Golf Tour of India), as well as a good number of top-10s."

Gaurav Pratap Singh (68) and Karandeep Kochhar (69) also kept alive their hopes of a Asian Tour card as they were Tied-50th at six-under.

Thailand golfer Poom Pattaropong's dream run continued as he signed for a six-under-par 65 to stand on the brink of securing his playing rights for the 2019 season.

The fourth round was also lit up by Thailand's Naras Luangphetcharaporn, who was staring at another elimination from Qualifying School until his record-breaking 59 lifted him to a share of 36th place.

Australia's Zach Murray is also ready to add another feather to his cap in his fledgling professional career as he is among the leading 70 players and ties.

Thailand's Gunn Charoenkul is closer to earning his card for the first time in five attempts at Qualifying School as he blazed his way around the Lakeview Resort and Golf Club with rounds of 69, 68, 67 and 67 to tie with China's Xiao Bowen in seventh place.

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