Daniel Chopra has set himself for a top-10 finish at the USD 1.1 million New Zealand Open after rising to the tied 11th spot with a two-under 70 in the penultimate round in Queenstown on Saturday.
With a total of five-under 211, Chopra is nine shots adrift of sole leader Richard Finch of England, who turned in a sensational 64 -- studded with nine birdies against a lone bogey -- to make a leap from his overnight tied fourth position.
The Indian-born Swede could not have asked for a better start as he reeled off a first-hole birdie but his fortunes kept fluctuating after that as he stumbled to bogeys on the third and seventh before gaining back-to-back shots on the eighth and ninth.
Making the turn one-under, Chopra once again hit consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15th but a dropped shot on the par-five 17th hole denied him a higher finish on the leaderboard.
Meanwhile, overnight leader Steven Bowditch of Australia slipped to the second spot, two strokes behind Finch, after carding a one-under 71.
Australians dominated the top-half of the leaderboard with Peter Fowler (62) taking the third spot with a total of 10-under 206. A stroke behind by Fowler was the Aussie trio of Rick Kulacz (68), Ewan Porter (70) and Paul Sheehan (73).