India’s Shubhankar Sharma shot two late birdies that saw him card 1-over 72 but he slipped to Tied-48th at 2-under for three rounds in the Olympic men’s golf competition here on Saturday.
Sharma had two birdies against three bogeys.
Bhullar, who, like Sharma, is making his Olympic debut shot even par 71 and was T-48th as the Indians were in the lower half of the 60-man field. There is no cut at the Olympic Games.
Bhullar had three birdies, one of them on the 18th, against three bogeys.
Xander Schauffele, who is in excellent form after winning two Majors this season, was in a perfect position to defend his Olympic golf title. The American carded a fighting 3-under 68 with a birdie and an eagle on the back nine at Le Golf National.
He shared the lead with the Spanish star Jon Rahm, who shot a second straight 66 after a first round 67.
At the top, Schauffele and Rahm were 14-under with Tommy Fleetwood (69) at 13-under, while Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard brought in the best score of the day at 9-under 62, that had seven birdies and an eagle and no bogeys. It was also the best round of the Games.
Hojgaard was in shared fourth place with the first round leader Hideki Matsuyama (71) at 11-under.
Rory McIlroy, who lost the bronze in Tokyo Games in a seven-man play-off for bronze, was tied sixth with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (67), who was also at 10-under as were Tim Kim (69) and Belgium’s Thomas Detry (69).
Scheffler bogeyed the 17th and then was in trouble down the final hole, but got up and down from 90 yards for par to boost his hopes of winning a medal on his Olympic debut.
Schauffele, the in-form player having won two major titles at the PGA Championship and the British Open this year, struggled to find his best during a level-par front nine. That was when Rahm cruised ahead.
Then, Schauffele eagled the par-five 14th hole around the same time as Rahm made a three-putt bogey on the next green.
Rahm started the day two shots off the pace but moved up with an excellent 66 to draw alongside Schauffele on 14-under for the tournament. Rahm, also a two-time major champion, made seven birdies.
Fleetwood is just one shot behind the leading duo in third place on 13-under after a 69 which featured three birdies and one bogey.
Hideki Matsuyama, tied for the overnight lead with Schauffele and Fleetwood, battled hard for a level-par 71 to remain on 11-under.
South Korean Kim has a lot at stake. A medal would earn him an exemption from military service. He finished strongly to be tied for sixth with McIlroy, Scheffler and Belgium’s Thomas Detry.
World number four Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, Australia’s Jason Day and Chilean Joaquin Niemann are all at nine-under, five shots off the lead.
First Published: Aug 04 2024 | 1:02 PM IS