![\"Shubhankar](\"images\/golf\/Shubhankar-Sharma-Round-3.jpg\")
Ahmedabad: Shubhankar Sharma of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, opened up a mammoth six-shot lead on the penultimate day of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters presented by Kalhaar Blues & Greens thanks to his third round effort of six-under-66. Shubhankar’s three-day total now stands at 16-under-200. Chikkarangappa of Bangalore, who shot a one-under-71 on day three, was placed second at 10-under-206.<\/p>\n
Shubhankar Sharma (69-65-66), the overnight leader by one shot, picked up his first shot of the day on the fourth where he landed his approach within five feet of the flag. The 18-year-old suffered a minor setback on the par-3 seventh as his tee shot found the slope of the bunker and thus resulted in a bogey. Shubhankar, who holds the distinction of being the youngest winner on the PGTI at age 17, produced four straight birdies from the eighth through the 11th courtesy some accurate iron-play. He sank his longest putt of the day, a 25-footer, on the 11th.<\/p>\n
Sharma opened up a big gap between himself and the rest of the field with an eagle on the 14th and birdie on the 17th. While on the 14th, he dished out a superb second shot to leave himself a six-feet eagle putt, on the 17th he knocked it in from 12 feet. Shubhankar closed the day with a bogey on the 18th after his tee shot went off target.<\/p>\n
“I think today’s round was my best effort of the week so far considering the conditions were the toughest as compared to the first two days. The wind was a major factor through the day. The eagle on the 14th really spurred me on. The 14th has been a profitable hole for me as I eagled it in round two as well and birdied it on day one,” said Shubhankar, who heads into the final round as the top contender for the title.<\/p>\n
He added, “I played well under pressure today as I started the day with a slender one-shot lead and knew that I had to make it count. I enjoy a substantial advantage at the moment but I have to keep up the intensity in the final round in order to stay ahead. I have to set myself a target and play accordingly.”<\/p>\n
Chikkarangappa (69-66-71), who was overnight joint second, ended the day in lone second after an eventful round of 71 that featured seven birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey.<\/p>\n
Anirban Lahiri’s 2014 course record of eight-under-64 was under threat from M Dharma (69-72-66) of Bangalore as the latter was eight-under through 14 holes thanks to an eagle and six birdies. Dharma, who chipped-in for eagle on the eighth, however, dropped two bogeys towards the end to return a 66. He closed the day in tied third at nine-under-207.<\/p>\n
Noida’s Rahul Bajaj (68-67-72), who was overnight tied second, joined Dharma in tied third after his even-par-72 on Thursday. Bajaj mixed six birdies with four bogeys and a double-bogey.<\/p>\n
Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi occupied fifth place at eight-under-208 while Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee and Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow shared sixth position at seven-under-209.<\/p>\n
Delhi’s Rashid Khan ended the day in eighth place at six-under-210 while Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia and Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah were a further shot back in tied ninth.<\/p>\n
Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu sank two eagles during his round of 72 which also featured a birdie and five bogeys. He was tied 17th at one-under-215.<\/p>\n
Sri Lankan Mithun Perera was tied 26th at two-over-218.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ahmedabad: Shubhankar Sharma of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, opened up a mammoth six-shot lead on the penultimate day of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters presented by Kalhaar Blues & Greens thanks to his third round effort of six-under-66. Shubhankar’s three-day total now stands at 16-under-200. Chikkarangappa of Bangalore, who shot a one-under-71 on day three, was placed second at 10-under-206.<\/p>\n
Shubhankar Sharma (69-65-66), the overnight leader by one shot, picked up his first shot of the day on the fourth where he landed his approach within five feet of the flag. The 18-year-old suffered a minor setback on the par-3 seventh as his tee shot found the slope of the bunker and thus resulted in a bogey. Shubhankar, who holds the distinction of being the youngest winner on the PGTI at age 17, produced four straight birdies from the eighth through the 11th courtesy some accurate iron-play. He sank his longest putt of the day, a 25-footer, on the 11th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-golf-golf"],"yoast_head":"\n