By Rahul Banerji
Feeder tour winner Arjun Sharma hung tough to take the sole lead going into the final day of the Players Championship with a gritty three-under 69 in Coimbatore on Friday.
Sharma leads the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship presented by KGiSL by one shot on 11-under 205 at the Coimbatore Golf Club.
The Greater Noida-based overnight joint leader kept alive hopes of a maiden title on the PGTI as a result of his one-shot advantage on the penultimate day.
Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi, a winner on the Asian Tour and former PGTI Order of Merit champion, also shot a 69 to climb one place to second, right on the leader’s tail on 10-under 206.
Twenty-one-year-old Akshay Neranjen, making his professional debut this week, impressed for the third day in succession with a flawless 68 to hold third place on nine-under 207.
The Bangalore-based rookie will play in the lead group for the final round, the PGTI said.
Sharma (67-69-69), in the mix since the start, overcame a first tee shot into the trees with a salvaged par to get his confidence going.
The Jaypee Greens golfer then picked up the pace with birdies on the two, three and 10, landing wedge shots within range of the pin.
The 29-year-old’s two errors resulting in bogeys on 13 and 17 were negated by his 30-foot birdie conversion on 16 and a chip-in birdie on the closing hole.
Good recovery
Arjun, who won on the PGTI Feeder Tour in Jaipur back in 2018, said, “I had a nervy start but the par save on the first got the ball rolling for me.
“Disappointed to drop a bogey from a good position on 13. But I managed to hang in there and finished really well for the second straight day.
“The chip-in on the last hole was a real confidence-booster going into round four.
“I’m feeling good about my game. I’m playing smart, playing to my strengths and not overdoing things. This approach has helped me so far this week.
“Heading into the final round I feel one has to watch out for the par-3 holes here. They are tough, especially seven and 14 as they’re long and tough to negotiate when the wind is up.”
Joshi (69-68-69) kept himself in contention with a solid effort, making the turn at level par.
The Asian Tour winner then upped the pace with four birdies and a bogey. He produced one of his longest drives to set up birdie on 10 and also made two long birdie putts on 16 and 18.
Khalin said, “I’m very pleased with the way I’ve been playing the back nine here. But I want to tune up the front nine where I haven’t scored well all week.
“I’ve been hitting the ball very well off the tee and placing myself in good positions to make birdie.
Clutch putts
“Also pleased with my putting having made some clutch putts today especially to save par. I feel that I need to sharpen my iron-play and wedge-play too to have a good chance on the final day.”
Joshi will be joined by good friend and regular practice partner Neranjen (69-70-68) in the leader group.
Neranjen, making his pro debut this week, had outstanding chip-putt birdies to capitalise on three of the four par-5s, the ninth, 10th and 13th, to give the senior pros a run for their money
“The key to my good scores has been the fact that I’ve stayed patient despite making slow starts on two days when I didn’t score early birdies,” Neranjen said.
“Hitting my drives well and keeping them in play has helped me capitalise on the par-5s this week.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun playing the last round in the leader group with my practice partner Khalin. We even played the practice round together this week.
“Khalin is very competitive but with both of us playing together there may be a lot of friendly banter too.” Two-time PGTI Order of Merit champion Shamim Khan of Delhi, the overnight joint leader, slipped to fourth on eight-under 208 with a third-round 72.
Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh (71) was fifth on seven-under 209.
Also read: Shamim, Arjun Sharma in shared lead at Players Championship
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