Trying hard to save his Asian Tour card, India's Khalin Joshi turned in a superb seven-under 65 to take a share of the lead at the weather-interrupted USD 300,000 BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open here today.
Joshi was tied for the lead with Chinnarat Phadungsil of Thailand.
Joshi knows he is running out events as he tries to secure his playing rights for 2017 on the Asian tour. The 24-year-old, who is way down in 119th place needs to get into Top-65 to ensure a card for next year.
There is just the Hong Kong Open , where he is unlikely to get a spot, and the Panasonic Open India left for him. But like his friend and colleague Shubhankar Sharma, who was also on the brink till last year, the 24-year-old Joshi turned in a brilliant performance to give himself a chance this week.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, Jeev Milkha Singh and Himmat Rai -- all shot 71 each to be Tied-43rd, while Chiragh Kumar and Sujjan Singh were also one-under but yet to finish their rounds at the Pondok Indah Golf Course.
Jyoti Randhawa and Abhinav Lohan were one-over and will come back to finish their rounds on Friday, while Sbhubhankar Sharma (74) was way behind. Also yet to finish his round was S Chikkrangappa at two-over.
The big-hitting Joshi is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his close friend Shubhankar, who finished tied fourth in the Philippines on Sunday to retain his Tour card for the new 2017 season.
"I've been talking to Shubhankar (Sharma) and he has been a huge influence to me. He had a great week last week and I'm so happy for him. He told me to never give up because you never know what will happen until the last moment like what happened to him.
"I hope to follow in his footsteps and have one good week to keep my card. Once you've saved your card, it is a fantastic feeling because you are playing to win and trying to move higher in your career," said the 24-year-old Joshi.
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