By Rahul Banerji
Gurgaon golfer Kartik Sharma continued to show out at The Challenge in tied sixth as the best-placed Indian at the $300,000 event in Bangalore on Thursday.
At the top, Dutchman Lars van Meijel stormed to a two-shot lead with an error-free five-under 67 at the KGA, the PGTI said.
van Meijel (66-66-67), a winner on the Challenge Tour who was third overnight, took his total to 17-under 199 on Thursday at the event co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour and PGTI.
Overnight leader Alex Fitzpatrick (65-65-71) of England slipped to tied second on 15-under 201 with a 71 in the penultimate round.
Swiss golfer Joel Girrbach (69-64-68) gained two spots to end the day alongside Fitzpatrick.
Sharma (66-67-70) produced a 70, his second straight bogey-free round, to close round three on 13-under 203, four shots off the pace.
Quick take-off
van Meijel birdied three of the opening four holes to make the perfect start on Moving Day, two more birdies either side of the turn helping him take control.
The 28-year-old from Nijmegen landed his irons and wedges within six feet for three of his birdies. Lars also sank an 18-footer from the fringe for birdie on hole 14.
“It was windier than the other days. It was in a slightly different direction as well so I had to adjust a little bit, but I started well and just tried to keep on hitting good shots,” the Dutchman said.
“You need to commit to your shots out here. I was trying to hit the right shots, play smart, make some putts, and go from there.
“It would mean a lot to win. I haven’t been in contention a lot lately, so it means a lot to be out there again, feeling the pressure. I’m just going to go out there, enjoy it and try to shoot a low one again.
“I’ve put a lot of effort into my putting lately and it’s showing. The level is so high. You need to be on top of your game to win.”
Going close
The left-handed Sharma, 22, three shots off the lead at the start of day three, landed his approach close for birdie on six and found the par-5 11th green in two shots to set up his second and last birdie of the day.
Sharma, India’s number one amateur before turning pro in 2020, said, “It was a very steady round. Importantly, I have dropped just one bogey in the tournament so far and have kept the errors out.
“Besides the two birdies today, I also made a couple of crucial par saves with some good chip-putts. It’s a very competitive field and I’m aware that I will need very good scoring to get my name on top in the final round.”
Aman Raj (69) also posted a second straight bogey-free round to end the day in tied eighth place on 12-under 204.
The other Indians in the top-20 were Udayan Mane (69) who was T12 on 11-under 205 and Veer Ahlawat (65) and Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (67) a further shot back in T1h.
Veer’s 65 was the joint best score of the day and lifted him 29 places.
Honey Baisoya too carded a 65 to gain 37 spots for T22nd on nine-under 207 along with M. Dharma (71).
Round 3 leaderboard
199: Lars Van Meijel (Ned) 66-66-67
201: Joel Girrbach (Sui) 69-64-68; Alex Fitzpatrick (Eng) 65-65-71
202: Michael Hirmer (Ger) 64-71-67; Frederic Lacroix (Fra) 67-66-69
203: Ugo Coussaud (Fra) 68-67-68; Kartik Sharma (Ind) 66-67-70
Also read: Fitz seizes Day 2 lead at The Challenge, Kartik Sharma in the mix
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