After third round, city lad Sandhu shares lead with Bangladesh’s Mollah

Sandhu, currently second on the PGTI Order of Merit, had a cold start as he missed a short putt for a birdie on the second. However, Sandhu managed to make breakthroughs on the fourth and ninth where he rolled in birdies from five feet. The 25-year-old golfer, then went on to collect five more birdies on the back-nine. Sandhu produced a great second shot from the rough to set up a five-foot birdie conversion on the 12th hole and then nearly holed out his approach on the 15th hole despite the day witnessing less wind.

Sandhu, a two-time winner on the PGTI, said, “I don’t remember shooting a bogey-free round previously at my home course. So that’s a big boost for my confidence heading into the final round. The wind wasn’t a big factor today so I saw it as a day to capitalise on the calmer conditions and climb up the leaderboard. But the pins were pushed to the edges today so finding those exact yardages off the fairway was a little tough as one was in between clubs. I almost holed out twice today so the ball-striking was good and my putts took off on the back-nine. I made a tough two-putt from 70 feet on the par-5 13th hole. I’m also feeling the comfort of playing at home after being on the road for so many weeks. I have the home support and warmth.”

Zamal said, “My driving and chipping continues to be the best part of my game this week. I’ve been making most of the fairways and greens in regulation. The big disappointments today were my iron shots and putting on the back-nine. Playing error-free for the last two days has really lifted my confidence ahead of the final round.”

Both second-round leaders Shivendra Singh Sisodia and Kartik Sharma struggled with their driving in the third round but managed to keep themselves in the hunt. Sisodia made an eagle, two birdies and four bogeys while Sharma had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.

The two other Chandigarh golfers in the top-ten were defending champion Karandeep Kochhar (68) and Ranjit Singh (69). Karandeep was placed seventh at eight-under 208 while Ranjit was in eighth position at seven-under 209. Chandigarh golfer Abhijit Singh Chadha, who was overnight third, dropped to tied 15th at four-under 212 following a third round score of five-over-77.