Shubhankar Sharma holds two-shot lead despite testing third round

Greater Noida: Shubhankar Sharma carded an even-par 72 to maintain a two-shot lead after the third round of the Rs 2 crore Vishwa Samudra presents Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship powered by NALCO at Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort in Greater Noida.

The 30-year-old Chandigarh golfer, who shot rounds of 68, 65 and 72, began the day with a four-shot cushion. However, five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey left him at 11-under 205 heading into the final round.

Bengaluru’s Manoj S and Italy’s Michele Ortolani emerged as his nearest challengers, both sitting at nine-under 207.

Manoj (70-71-66) surged from sixth place into a tie for second with a bogey-free six-under 66, featuring six birdies. Ortolani (72-70-65) climbed from overnight seventh after producing a flawless seven-under 65, the joint-lowest round of the day.

Last year’s DP World PGTI Order of Merit champion Yuvraj Sandhu (71-69-69) of Chandigarh made a three-under 69 to occupy fourth place at seven-under 209.

Shubhankar began strongly, making four birdies on the front nine before adding another on the 10th. However, he dropped three bogeys and a double-bogey on the closing stretch that reduced his lead from his overnight four strokes to two.

“It was an up-and-down day,” Shubhankar said. “I started strongly and made four birdies on the front nine, including gains on the second, fourth and seventh, before adding another on the 10th.

“The back nine was disappointing because I missed a few opportunities coming in and dropped some shots. However, I’m still playing good golf and have plenty to look forward to tomorrow. Hopefully, I can carry the momentum from today’s front nine through all 18 holes in the final round.”

Chandigarh’s Brashwarpal Singh (72-65-73) and Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (72-67-71) shared fifth place at six-under 210. Joshi, a four-time winner on the DP World PGTI this season, began the week second in the Race to DP World India Championship.

Current Race to the DP World India Championship leader Saptak Talwar (75-72-72) climbed from tied 31st to tied 25th at three-over 219.

The Pro-Am on Friday was won by the team consisting of professional Tapendra Ghai and amateur Prem Duggal. The Pro-Am winning team had a total of 48 Stableford Points.

The Tour Championship is being supported by Presenting Partner Vishwa Samudra, a rapidly growing global business conglomerate, and Powered by Partner NALCO, one of India’s leading aluminium companies, as well as Event Partners APL Apollo Steel Pipes, Himalayan and Powerade, and Broadcast Partners Zee5 and Unite8 Sports. The tournament is also supported by DP World PGTI’s Umbrella Partner DP World as well as Tour Partners HCL Group, Axis Bank, Amul, Amrutanjan Enerlyte, Air India Maharaja Club, Kalyani, Golf Plus Monthly and Golf Design India.

Tags : Shubhankar Sharma, PGTI, Golf, Manoj S, Michele Ortolani, Yuvraj Sandhu, Kapil Dev