Pattaya, July 28 : Indian golfer Shiv Kapur carded a three-under 67 in the third and peultimate round to move into the second spot in the $500,000 Royal Cup here on Saturday.
Defending champion Shiv's total after the three days was nine-under 201 -- two shots behind South African overnight leader Justin Harding, who battled to a one-over 71 to stay atop the leaderboard.
The highlight of Shiv's round was three birdies in four holes, starting from 14th hole. Prior to that he had two birdies against two bogeys at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.
"Nothing much was happening up till hole 14 when I made a good putt to get some momentum going. Had a good chip on hole 16 to make birdie and on 17 I holed a 30-footer for birdie again," Shiv said in an Asian Tour release.
"Happy with the way I finished since all the action happened for me on the last five holes. It was just one of those days where you stay patient when the conditions are tough and you get rewarded."
The 32-year-old Harding reeled in 17 straight pars before dropping his first bogey of the week on the 54th hole, reducing his overnight lead to two.
American Jarin Todd posted a 69 to stay three shots off the pace. New Zealand's Mark Brown and Japanese Naoto Nakanishi shared the fourth spot on seven-under 203 total.
After Shiv, next best Indian was Gaganjeet Bhullar, who scored a 69 to share the ninth spot with five others at five-under 205 total.
Viraj Madappa was tied 24th on two-under 208 total (70-69-69). S. Chikka scored 67 to take his total to one-under 209 -- same as Honey Baisya as they tied for the 30th spot.
One stroke behind the pair were Khalin Joshi and Himmat Rai.
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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
