Veer Ahlawat opened up a two-shot lead at the front of the pack after the third round of the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship here on Thursday. The Gurgaon professional carded seven-under-65 for the second straight day to sign for a total of 19-under-197 at the Eagleton Golf Resort.
Aman Raj (199), who had shared the lead overnight, shot five-under-67 to slip two strokes behind the leader. Mari Muthu (201), who sank two eagles in his round of 66, was in third while Udayan Mane (202) climbed up to fourth. Local lad S. Chikkarangappa (203) moved up four places to fifth. Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan, meanwhile, became the first player on the PGTI to have achieved the rare feat of making consecutive eagles. He closed the day in tied 16th place at six-under-210.
Ahlawat made three birdies and an eagle on the first 10 holes. Bogeys on the 11th and 14th slowed him down but the 23-year-old signed off with a hat-trick of birdies on the final three holes. "I was hitting pretty solid and whatever birdies I made were within 10 feet. My short-iron and wedge shots were quite accurate today. It’s now about driving home the advantage. I will play it hole by hole and not think too far ahead," he said later.
Shubhankar Sharma, meanwhile, produced a round of 72 to occupy tied 32nd place.
Top scores (after round three): 197: Veer Ahlawat (67, 65, 65); 199: Aman Raj (65, 67, 67); 201: Mari Muthu (68, 67, 66); 202: Udayan Mane (68, 67, 67); 203: S. Chikkarangappa (67, 69, 67); 204: Gaurav Pratap Singh (70, 64, 70); 205: Khalin Joshi (69, 64, 72).
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