Gurugram, March 28 (NationPress) The titleholder, Eugenio Chacarra, has established a four-stroke advantage after marking his third consecutive under-par round of the competition.

Chacarra recorded a score of 2-under 70, bringing his total to 10-under par through 54 holes (67-69-70). Both Alex Fitzpatrick and MJ Daffue are in a tie for second place, trailing the leader by four strokes at 6-under par. Daffue's rounds include scores of 71-67-72, while Fitzpatrick's scores are 71-68-72.

David Law (71-70-70), currently in a T-4 position, is the only other player who has managed to stay under par across all three rounds. He shares this position with Freddy Schott (66-73-72).

OP Chouhan stands out as the leading Indian competitor with a single round remaining in the Hero Indian Open. Chouhan posted a score of 1-over 73, bringing his overall score to 1-over par, placing him at T-20 alongside nine other players.

In a notable morning development, Indian-American Akshay Bhatia, who was the highest-ranked player in the field, faced a significant setback.

With the second round incomplete on Friday, Bhatia returned Saturday morning to finalize his second round in hopes of making the cut. Positioned at the cut line at 4-over with two holes remaining, a bogey on the challenging 17th hole pushed him to 5-over, ultimately resulting in him missing the cut.

Chouhan's third round began with a birdie on the first hole, but he slipped with bogeys on the fourth and seventh holes before recovering with a birdie on the eighth, finishing the front nine at even par. On the back nine, Chouhan made an early birdie on the 11th hole but then dropped four shots in three holes, including a double bogey on the 12th and bogeys on the 13th and 14th. He salvaged his round by picking up shots on the 15th and 17th holes, finishing the round at 1-over par. His cumulative score for the week stands at 1-over par (73-71-73).

Besides OP Chouhan, two other Indians made the cut this week: Manoj S, age 18, and Kshitij Naveed Kaul. Manoj is currently in T-54 with a score of 6-over par (76-70-76).

Kaul was three shots shy of the cut line when play was halted on the second day with four holes remaining in his second round. On Saturday morning, the 25-year-old made a birdie and an eagle, successfully making the cut. He is now in T-63 with a score of 9-over par (73-75-77).

Beginning his day with four consecutive pars, Chacarra hit his first birdie of the round on the fifth hole, only to drop a shot on the sixth with a bogey. He surged ahead of his closest competitors by finishing the front nine with three successive birdies. Two bogeys on the back nine at the 13th and 14th holes, alongside a birdie on the 16th, allowed the Spaniard to end the day at 10-under par, holding a four-shot advantage over Daffue and Fitzpatrick.

A victory on Sunday would mark Chacarra as only the fourth player in history to successfully defend the Hero Indian Open title, following his prior denial to Keita Nakajima of the same achievement.

Chacarra already holds the unique distinction of being the only Spanish player to have secured the title.

Only three players have successfully defended the title: Kenji Hosoishi (1967, 1968), Jyoti Randhawa (2006, 2007), and SSP Chawrasia (2016, 2017).

If either Daffue or Fitzpatrick triumphs, they will also set significant records of their own. Daffue would be the first player since Richard McEvoy to win a Hotel Planner Tour and a DP World Tour event in consecutive weeks since 2018.

Daffue clinched the DP World PGTI Open just last week at the Classic Golf and Country Club, located merely 30 kilometers from the DLF Golf and Country Club.

Fitzpatrick is on a quest to join the exclusive group of siblings to win titles in consecutive weeks across two separate tours; his brother, Matt Fitzpatrick, won the Valspar Championship last week in Florida.