La misión es difícil. Muy difícil. Eugenio López Chacarra (-2) will start this Sunday five shots behind Joaco Niemann (-7) in the long and final round of the International Series India. The third round has been halted due to lack of light with nine holes remaining. For everyone, as the Asian Tour has decided that today, and likely tomorrow, play will be in shotgun format to complete the four rounds of golf at the DLF Country Club in New Delhi.
Chacarra’s mission is very complicated because Niemann is no rookie; he has already shown he knows how to close tournaments when needed and is absolutely on fire this week. He has gone 30 consecutive holes without making a single bogey, a real feat on this minefield of a course at the DLF. Moreover, in 44 holes he has only made one mistake. We can imagine the wealthy owner of the complex throwing his hands up in despair because there is a Chilean he cannot bring down. As you know, the boss of the Indian course wants to see professionals suffer and boasts that very few finish under par at the end of the week. With Joaco, for now, he has hit a wall.
Making up five shots on Niemann over 27 holes is not going to be an easy task, but if there is a course where it can be done, it is the DLF. Chacarra himself, who is playing very well this week, felt it this morning, with a five-over-par score in the last nine holes of his second round after taking the lead with an albatross included. If you lose focus, this course can bury you, so the comeback, while tricky, is possible. Chacarra is up for the challenge and will try by all means.
Eugenio started his third round on the 18th hole and played until finishing the 8th. He made three birdies and three bogeys. A hallmark of the course. If you play well, you can score low, but for every shot that doesn’t go where it should, you pay a toll, sometimes very high. He started with a birdie on the 18th, made a bogey on the 1st, birdie on the 2nd, bogey on the 4th, birdie on the 5th, and a final bogey on the 8th. A shame that the last two par 5s he played ended in bogeys. He is currently in fifth place, five shots behind Niemann, who has made six pars and a birdie. The Chilean stopped on the 9th with a birdie putt from the fringe.
One shot behind Joaco is the Japanese Kazuki Higa (-6), with whom he shares a match, while Ollie Schniederjans (-4) is third, three shots back, and the Australian Travis Smyth (-3) is fourth alone. Further back are Chase Koepka (-2), Bryson DeChambeau (-1), or Sebastián Muñoz (+1) and Abraham Ancer (+1). The setbacks at the start of the third round have been for MJ Maguire, Anirban Lahiri, or the Guatemalan José Toledo.
On the other hand, Luis Masaveu (+9), who started on the 6th hole, is at +2 over nine holes. He has made eight pars and only stumbled with a double bogey on the 10th. There is still room to gain many positions in the remaining 27 holes.
Play will resume this Sunday at first light, with the third round expected to finish around 11:30 local time, and the fourth round is expected to start to complete the 72-hole tournament. The fog, stubborn throughout the week, will have the final say.
