Gurugram, March 28 Reigning champion Eugenio Chacarra of Spain extended his lead by four strokes after posting a two-under 70 in the third round of the Indian Open here on Saturday.
South African MJ Daffue, winner of the HotelPlanner Tour event in India last week, and Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick, scored 72 in the third round to be placed in joint second place with a score of six-under 210.
Om Prakash Chouhan (73-71-73), from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, continued as the best-placed Indian for the second day in a row, with a third-round score of 73 that moved him up to tied 20th place with a total score of one-over 217.
Earlier in the day, the 30 golfers who had not completed round two on Friday when play was suspended due to fading light, resumed their rounds at 7:15 am local time.
At the completion of round two, three Indians made the halfway cut of four-over 148.
The trio included Chouhan (tied 21st at even-par 144), teenager Manoj S (tied 38th at two-over 146), and Kshitij Naveed Kaul (tied 57th at four-over 148).
Kshitij, who had four holes remaining in round two when fading light suspended play on Friday, came back in the morning and produced a birdie and eagle to make the cut in a dramatic fashion.
Chouhan, the 2023 DP World PGTI Order of Merit champion, mixed five birdies with four bogeys and a double-bogey during his eventful third round.
He was three-over through his first 14 holes on day three as he made a couple of three-putts early in the round. However, he managed to turn things around in his favor with a couple of birdies on the last four holes, where he sank putts from a range of 10 to 12 feet.
18-year-old Manoj S (76-70-76), making his debut at the Indian Open and playing in only his second season as a professional, drained three birdies on Saturday but also dropped a bogey and three double-bogeys that saw him submit a card of 76.
Manoj thus ended the day in tied 54th place with a score of six-over 222.
Kshitij (73-75-77) signed for a 77 in the penultimate round to be tied 63rd at nine-over 225.