Jyoti Randhawa tumbled off the pole position following a jittery start but still returned a level-par card to be tied fourth after the penultimate round of the SAIL Open in Noida on Friday.
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With the blustery conditions at the Jaypee Greens reminding Mark Brown of his hometown Wellington, the New Zealander indeed looked at home as he fired a scintillating five-under 67 to grab the sole lead at 11-under 205.
Brown's impressive round was studded with six birdies with the 17th hole bogey being the lone blot in an otherwise impeccable card.
Breathing down his neck from just one shot behind was Australian Scott Hend (69) and Asian Tour rookie Rhys Davies (67).
Further one shot behind was Randhawa, joined by the fellow Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar, Malaysia's Danny Chia and Australian Adam Groom, who all carded identical 69s in the $ 400,000 Asian Tour event.
Randhawa had a shaky start as he double-bogeyed the third hole and was in fact three-over when he approached the eighth hole.
The former Asia number one picked up a shot there and took the turn at two-over before embarking on a damage control exercise in his back nine.
Two more bogeys meant it was not a blemish-free affair but to his credit, Randhawa fired an eagle on the 12th and picked up two more shots to round off at level-par.