Gaurav slip further, Shiv withdraws

Shanghai, Apr 14 (UNI) After barely making the cut, lone Indian in the fray Gaurav Ghei slipped further down to tied 60th spot in the third round of the two-million dollar Volvo China Open here today.

Tied 53rd overnight, Ghei began on a disastrous note with a bogey on the very first hole and went on to drop five more bogeys and a double bogey on the 14th. In comparasion, he could manage only three birdies in all for a horrendous five-over 76 score.

With the relentless wind being the talking point for the third straight day, he aggregated a poor nine-over 222 at the Shanghai Silport Golf Club.

Meanwhile, Shiv Kapur, who was tied 34th after two rounds, withdrew from the tournament.

Atop the table, Markus Brier of Austria fired a strong four-under-par 67 to surge ahead of overnight leader Raphael Jacquelin of France, with Australia's Scott Hend lurking a stroke behind at the co-sanctioned Asian and European event.

Brier blasted seven birdies, including three over his last three holes, against three bogeys for a six-under-par 207 total and holds a one stroke lead over Hend, who shot a steady 70 while Jacquelin shared the fourth spot with two others.

Yesterday Rahul Gangjee, Amandeep Johl and SSP Chowrasia, all had failed to make the cut.

UNI