Greater Noida, Oct 9 (PTI) Shubhankar Sharma returned an even-par 72 to retain a two-shot lead after the third round of the Rs 2 crore Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort here on Friday.
The 30-year-old Chandigarh golfer (68-65-72), who began the day with a four-stroke advantage, mixed five birdies with three bogeys and a double bogey to remain at 11-under 205 heading into the final round.
Bengaluru’s Manoj S (70-71-66) and Italy’s Michele Ortolani (72-70-65) emerged as Shubhankar’s closest challengers at nine-under 207.
Manoj climbed from sixth to tied second after making six birdies in a bogey-free 66. Ortolani rose from seventh overnight with a blemish-free seven-under 65, the joint-lowest score 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. PTI AH AH UNG
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