Rayong (Thailand):After two days of near flawless golf, India’s Shiv Kapur floundered on the back-nine with a string of bogeys but still managed to cling on to a slender one-stroke lead after the third round of the $300,000 Double A International Golf Tournament here on Saturday.

Thongchai Jaidee made a late charge to come within a whisker of the Indian rookie who had entered the penultimate round with a five-stroke advantage.

Battling two experienced Thais, Kapur played some scintillating golf on the front nine with a three-under 34.

But he came under severe pressure on the back stretch to drop three bogeys and one double bogey, which negated three other birdies on back nine at the St Andrews Hill Golf Club, for two-over 38 and a day’s total of 72 for a tournament score of 13-under 206.

“I played really well for the first 10 holes and chipped in for birdie on 10 for four under. Then I hit one or two bad shots and paid the price. I bogeyed two of the par fives on back nine,” said Kapur.

“But I’m still one ahead and I know Thongchai will be charging tomorrow. It’s mine to win or lose.”

Looking forward to the final day, Kapur said, “Playing with Thongchai should help me tomorrow as it’s quite a challenge with the fans rooting for him. But I hope to do it.”

Jaidee, 12-under after a 69 in third round, capitalised on the situation and made up five shots in a space of three holes, as he birdied the 16th and 18th, while Kapur double bogeyed and bogeyed those holes.

Srirot Thammanoon, who gave Kapur a run the whole day, slipped to third with a bogey on final hole and is now 10-under 209, tied for third with Scotsman Simon Yates.

Making it a fine day for the Indians was Harmeet Kahlon, who with a birdie on the final hole, finished with 71 and ended at eight-under 211 at tied ninth place.

Amandeep Johl shot the best round of the week, a five-under 68 and zoomed to tied 12th spot at seven-under 212. Johl had four birdies on the front nine, including a third one in as many days on the monstrous par-six fourth. On the back nine, he had three more birdies.

One shot further down is Rahil Gangjee with six birdies on the front nine. He shot a 69 and is tied 15th place with a total of 213.

Kapur goes as the leader into the final round for the first time in his career. He is now on the threshold of a major breakthrough as the win would also bring in the added incentive of a spot on Asia’s most lucrative golf tournament, the $5 million HSBC Tournament of Champions, which is headlined by Tiger Woods and Vijai Singh. Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal are already in the tournament.

“I missed some small putt and that cost me,” said Kapur. “There is one more full round to go and I am simply going out to play the way I always do.”

Gaurav Ghei (70), with three birdies in his last three holes, and Digvijay Singh (69), aided by a stretch where he had two birdies and an eagle, lie 26th. Mukesh Kumar went along well in the front nine, but dropped two bogeys on back nine and dropped to one-under 72, carding a total of three-under 216.

Ashok Kumar, who had a double on the par-six fourth, had a series of three bogeys from tenth to 12th and another on 17th and dropped to one-under 218 and tied 39th with Firoz Ali. Arjun Singh was lying tied 50th after a 74.

Kapur’s first blemish of the day came with a bogey on the 11th and it ended a streak of 44 bogey-free holes since second hole on first day.

He immediately got the shot back with a birdie on the next. Kapur then dropped another shot when he missed a small par putt on the par-five 13th hole.

But he made up with a birdie on 14th as the gap between him and the Thai duo of Srirot and Jaidee became five. Then came the disastrous stretch as he dropped four shots in the last three holes.

When the second round, delayed because of darkness, ended this morning, as many as 10 Indians made the cut. The figure is among the highest ever for Indians in a tournament outside India.

Kapur turned pro only last year and in his first season on the Indian Tour, he won two titles and finished second more than a couple of times.

On the Asian Tour, his best has been a tied third place at the Crowne Plaza and a fourth place in Bangkok Airways. He has had four top-10 finishes in his last five starts, including a tied eighth place in the Hero Honda Indian Open.