Awaiting a good fourth round

So, the hour, or rather the day, of reckoning is here. Three rounds, good ones at that, and one more left. I lead the field by a stroke, but...

So, the hour, or rather the day, of reckoning is here. Three rounds, good ones at that, and one more left. I lead the field by a stroke, but that really does not amount to anything. The reality now is I have to string a good fourth round and do what I have not for the last two years win a tournament.

As I have said before I am playing solid. The only grey area has been putting, for I am leaving them a good foot or two short. I tried and succeeded to some extent by consciously trying to hit past the hole. As one of guys at the course said, “If you don’t hit them past the hole, you don’t get them in !”

Nine-under is not bad, but the deal in golf is `You take all the birdies that come your way, you never know when they will stop’.

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A word about two of my friends: Gaurav Ghei and Jyoti Randhawa. Gaurav, who does well on this course had one nightmarish hole that spoiled all his good work. A `quad’ on the 16th and some missed small putts saw him finish the round in 80, which included 43 on the back nine.That leaves him a lot of work to do tommorrow. As for Jyoti, he could well have been in lead, but for that unfortunate ruling on the third hole which cost two strokes.

I am told it was basically some misunderstanding of rules, but golf is a cruel game when it comes to rules.

The fact that Jyoti still managed to overcome the two-stroke penalty and still shoot 73 for the day and be 7-under for three days speaks volumes of his talent and maturity.

Like all of us at all times, golf keeps teaching us, and that’s the way he has taken this incident.