Gurgaon’s Kartik Sharma played his way into the J&K Open round three lead with a flawless card in Jammu on Friday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Kartik Sharma fired an outstanding 5 under par 67 to take a three-shot lead in round three of the J&K Open at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course on Friday
Sharma (71-68-67), overnight tied for fifth three strokes off the lead, put together a flawless round for a 10-under 206 tournament total, the PGTI said.
The left-hander from the DLF course in Gurgaon, currently 26th on the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking, is yet to chalk up his breakthrough professional title.
Delhi golfers Sachin Baisoya (72) and Shaurya Bhattacharya (73), the overnight leader, ended the penultimate round tied for second place on 7 under 209.
Sharma scored birdies from 40 feet and 12 feet on the second and fifth holes to pick up pace early on. He followed up with accurate wedge play for three more birdies, one of which was a tap-in.
Clear plans
“I had a good strategy coming into this round and I executed it well,” the 24-year-old said later.
“Stayed focused all through and took it one shot at a time. I struck it well, found most greens and converted my opportunities with some consistent putting.
“I’ve been working hard on my game and am headed in the right direction. I have good memories from my top 10 finish here at Jammu two years back. This bogey-free round gives me a lot of confidence going into the final round.”
Bangalore’s C. Muniyappa (69) was fourth on 6 under 210 while Pune’s Udayan Mane (69), Noida’s Amardeep Malik (69) and Delhi’s Arjun Prasad (72) were a further shot back in tied fifth.
Divyanshu Bajaj Jethmalani of Kolkata shot the low round of the tournament so far, an 8 under 64 that took him 39 places up the leaderboard to tied 11th on 3 under 213.
Divyanshu’s round featured six straight birdies from the 18th to the fifth hole.
Also read: Shaurya Bhattacharya maintains lead on J&K Open Day Two
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