Yokohama, Oct 11 (IANS) Sahith Theegala was cruising along at 3-under and was inside the Top-3 when he went into the water and then missed a bogey putt to drop two shots on the 18th on the third day of the Baycurrent Classic in Japan.

His round of 1-under 70 gave him a total of 8-under and he was Tied-eighth and four shots behind the leading duo Max Greyserman and Xander Schauffele.

Greyserman finished with an even-par 71 with Schauffele carding a 67 at the Yokohama Country Club. Both are on 12-under 201. Theegala is trying to make up for missing a lot of events during the regular season due to a neck injury.

Playing on a rainy day, he birdied the second and the fourth but dropped a shot on the 12th. He got that shot back and another on the 14th. However, a double on the 18th pulled him back.

In his first two rounds Theegala hit 22 of the 30 fairways. His ball-striking has been good but he has been giving some bogeys, which need to be tightened.

The rough at Yokohama Country Club can be penal, but it’s hardly U.S. Open-level punishment, which makes the results feel more unlucky than anything else.

As his second round 67 showed, his form is showing improvement and Theegala could well go low and contend on the final day. Greyserman is seeking his first PGA Tour title after being second in this event a year ago.

Schauffele is looking to add more silverware to his collection of two major championships, a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and numerous other PGA Tour titles. Add to that, Schauffele’s mother was born in Taiwan but grew up in Japan. Winning, of course, would be a dream.

Greyserman, who has shared or held the lead outright since the first round, described just holding on.

Five players were three strokes back going into the final round including defending champion Nico Echavarria (69), Michael Thorbjornsen (66), Byeong Hun An (66), Garrick Higgo (68) and Si Woo Kim (69).

It is the only PGA Tour tournament in Japan. The event was moved this year to Yokohama after being played east of Tokyo. The event was won by Tiger Woods in 2019.

–IANS

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