Lahiri maintains lead at BILT Open

Anirban Lahiri was five strokes ahead when play was suspended due to bad light on day three of the BILT Open 2009 golf tournament in Greater Noida near here Saturday.

Only seven professionals out of 52 could complete round three as play began six hours behind schedule due to bad light and poor visibility caused by the haze that had enveloped the National Capital Region during the first half of the day.

Anirban Lahiri of Bangalore, who could only finish nine holes Saturday, currently has a total of 17 under after having played 45 holes in the tournament. Lahiri’s incomplete third round featured an eagle on the fourth and birdies on the second and eighth. His eagle on the fourth hole came as a result of his second shot (3-wood) to within six feet of the pin.

Lahiri said: "I’m pleased that I kept the momentum going today. I’m very well placed at this stage, but I will not take anything for granted as it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. I’ll just try to stay calm and positive. The delay due to bad light has not affected me as I have dealt with several such situations in the past."

Delhi golfers Naman Dawar and Himmat Singh Rai currently occupy tied second position at 12 under. While Dawar completed 11 holes on Saturday, Rai managed get through nine. Dawar fired five birdies to be five under for the day and Rai made three birdies to be three under for the day.

Dawar, who had a great outing on Saturday, said: "I was in excellent putting form today. I made some really long putts to save par on a couple of occasions and also sank some putts from 10 to 12 feet for birdies. I just want to keep this going on the final day.”

Harendra Gupta is in fourth place at the moment as his total reads 11 under after 11 holes (47 holes) from round three.

The third round is scheduled to commence at 7 a.m. Sunday. The fourth and final round will start immediately after the remaining 45 professionals have completed round three.

Last updated on Nov 7^th, 2009 at 20:25 pm IST--IANS