Higa still trails by seven after third day

Kazuki Higa failed to make any headway in his third round of the Hero India Open in New Delhi on Friday.

The 27-year-old Higa left it late to birdie the final two holes to salvage a one-under-par 71 at the DLF Golf and Country Club, but he remained seven shots off leader Paul Yannik of Germany on a three-day total of four-under-par 212.

Higa had earlier mixed two birdies with three bogeys in the 10-hole stretch, starting from number seven.

Fellow compatriots Ryo Hisatsune and Masahiro Kawamura also stayed on course for a top-10 finish after signing for 69 and 73 respectively to be tied for 16th on 215.

Aguri Iwasaki was still unable to break par for the third day running as he could only muster an even-par 72 to end the day at lowly joint 48th on three-over-par overall.

Yannik traded four birdies against three bogeys for 71 to hold on to the top spot and take a slender one-shot advantage over fellow German Marcel Siem into the finale.

The JGTO and DP World Tour will also join forces to hold the ISPS Handa Championship in April, making it the first-ever event to be co-sanctioned by the two prestigious circuits in Japan.

The US$2,000,000 tournament is slated for April 20-23 at the PGM Ishioka Golf Club in Ibaraki.

The event was supposed to take centerstage last year, but the plan had to be pushed back to 2023 due to the travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic