By Rahul Banerji
Akshay Sharma emerged the favourite after extending his lead to five shots in round three of the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at Panchkula Golf Club on Friday.
The Chandigarh golfer, overnight leader by three shots, carded a steady 5-under-67 despite some early jitters for a tournament tally of 19-under-197.
Karandeep Kochhar, also from Chandigarh, returned a 69 to stay second on 14-under-202.
Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S. (72) was dropped to third on 11-under-205 while Kolkata’s Viraj Madappa had the day’s best score of 64 to rise 21 places to fourth on 9-under-207.
Sharma (64-66-67) continued to impress at the first PGTI event in eight months as he worked his way to a healthy lead, setting the stage for his second title.
The 30-year-old, who was bogey-free in the first two rounds, made his first error of the week with a double-bogey on the second hole of the day.
Hot streak
Sharma, who last won in 2018, then chalked up four birdies over the next five holes, making an up and down from the bunker on the sixth and recovering well from the trees on the seventh.
On his back nine, Sharma sank three more birdies from between 25 and 45 feet. He made 15 greens in regulation for the second day running.
“It was another solid round for me barring one error early on,” he said later.
“My hitting was as good as the last two rounds but I didn’t hit it that close today. My placement wasn’t as accurate either.
“I made a great recovery from the trees on the seventh where I chipped out and followed that up with an exceptional 3-wood third shot which landed five feet from the pin.
“I made some long conversions as the greens are playing very soft and true so it’s easier to find the hole if you’re on the right line.
“I have a comfortable lead so I will look to play steady and let the others do all the attacking,” said Akshay.
Kochhar (68-65-69), trailing by three at the start of the day, kept pace with five birdies over the first 13 holes.
He drove the green on the par-4 sixth to make a birdie and also set up four feet conversions on the fifth and eighth.
Late setbacks
Two dropped shots late in the round were a setback for Kochhar, finding the hazard on the 15th and then had an unlucky bounce on the edge of the green, hit a tree and was deflected about 40 yards away.
“I had only one bad hole today, the 15th, otherwise it was a good round, Kochhar said,.
“A five-shot deficit is not a very big one at Panchkula but the key for me would be playing well on the first four holes and making inroads on that stretch because the following holes do provide scoring opportunities.”
Chikkarangappa (66-67-72) slipped from overnight tied second to third with a 72 that included three birdies, a bogey and a double.
Madappa struck an incredible 64 on Friday, one shy of Mandeo Singh Pathania’s 2009 course record of 63.
After a quiet front nine, Madappa took flight with some phenomenal putting as he dropped an eagle and six birdies including five on the trot.
Phenomenal putt
The eagle was the result of an 85-foot putt from the front edge of the green on the 11th.
“I didn’t hit anything close but my putter was on fire as my shortest putt of the day was from 12 feet,” Madappa said later.
“I put myself in good spots on the greens as I had a lot of flat putts and didn’t have to contend with the slopes on the greens.
“It was a tale of contrasting nines. On the front nine, I struggled with my tee shots and hitting but managed to be par at the turn thanks to some good up and downs.
“On the 12th I found something in my swing that gave me the momentum for the rest of the round.”
PGTO Order of Merit leader Udayan Mane of Pune had an error-free 66 to move up 10 places to fifth on 8-under-208.
Also read: Chandigarh’s Sharma takes round one honours as pro golf resumes
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