Bishnoi continues in Cosmo lead, now has Akshay alongside

By Rahul Banerji

For a third straight day, Sunhit Bishnoi led the Rs. 50 lakh India Cements Pro Championship at the TNGF Cosmo Golf Course on Friday, this time along with Akshay Sharma.

Chandigarh’s Akshay hit a 3-under par 69 while Gurgaon’s Bishnoi returned a 70, giving them a two-shot advantage over the rest of the field at a total of 12-under 204 on the Chennai course.

Day three of the tournament, or Moving Day, saw Kolkata’s Divyanshu Bajaj produce the week’s low round of 8-under 64, to climb 24 places into tied third on 10-under 206 along with Chandigarh golfer Harendra Gupta (69).

Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain was fifth on 9-under 207.

Sharma (68-67-69), a two-time winner on the PGTI, chipped his way to the top of the leaderboard on Friday. The 32-year-old dropped three shots but made six birdies that included two chip-ins and three tap-ins.

“The chip-in on the 12^th gave me good momentum despite the slow start,” Sharma said later.

Sharp finishing

“I was quite sharp around the greens on the back nine and made a total of 10 putts after the turn. If I can continue doing the same in the final round, I feel I would have a good shot at the title.”

Bishnoi (66-68-70), who trains at the DLF Golf & Country Club, continued in the lead for the third straight day.

Like Sharma, he too had a far better back nine and made the most of his chances on the greens.

After being two-over through 11 holes, Bishnoi sank four birdies over the last seven holes including the last three to round off the day in style.

“My iron play stood out for me today. I also made some great recoveries. Closing the round with a flurry of birdies always helps the confidence. I’ll look to carry that rhythm forward into the last day,” Bishnoi noted.

Bajaj had an eagle, nine birdies (including five on the trot) and three bogeys during his sensational 64. Divyanshu, who played some smart golf, made all the four par-5s count as he sank a 12-foot eagle on 16 before picking up birdies on the other three par-5s.

PGTI Order of Merit leader Om Prakash Chouhan was tied 14^th on 6-under 210.

Round 3 top five

204: Akshay Sharma (68-67-69); Sunhit Bishnoi (66-68-70)

206: Harendra Gupta (68-69-69); Divyanshu Bajaj (71-71-64)

207: Jamal Hossain (67-69-71)

Also read: Bishnoi shines on tough scoring day for one-shot Cosmo lead