Quiban falters with 78 as Schniederjans takes over
MANILA, Philippines -- Justin Quiban endured a tough moving day at the International Series India, sliding from joint fifth to a share of 20th after a disastrous six-over-par 78 at completion of the third round at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon early on Sunday.
Quiban started strong with a birdie on the second hole but quickly ran into trouble, carding four consecutive bogeys after a routine par on the par-3 third. His struggles continued on the par-5 eighth, where he conceded three strokes, leading to a woeful front-nine 42.
He steadied himself on the back nine with a one-birdie, one-bogey stretch but ultimately signed for a 78 – far from his earlier rounds of 70 and 71 that had kept him in contention for the $2-million championship.
Meanwhile, American Ollie Schniederjans surged to the top of the leaderboard with a second straight 69, reaching a seven-under total of 209. He now holds a three-shot lead over Japan’s Kazuki Higa, who carded an even-par 72 for a 212 aggregate.
Erstwhile leader Joaquin Niemann looked poised for another solid round after a front-nine 35 but unraveled on the back nine with a 42. A costly double bogey on No. 14 and three straight bogeys from the 16th saw him tumble to joint sixth at 215, alongside two others.
Colombian Sebastian Munoz (69), Mexico’s Abraham Ancer (71), and Australia’s Travis Smyth (72) share third place at 214, while World No. 12 Bryson DeChambeau also struggled, squandering an even-par round with a double bogey on the 17th. He settled for a 74, dropping to a share of 11th place at 217.
Thick fog over the first two days caused multiple delays, prompting tournament organizers to implement shotgun starts for the final two rounds of the International Series’ season opener, which also serves as the second leg of the Asian Tour, to ensure completion by Sunday afternoon.