Delhi's Rashid clings on to joint lead with Lucknow's Sanjay

KOCHI: Overnight leader Rashid Khan of Delhi was forced to share the lead along with Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow with seven under 101 at the end of the third day of the Rs 50 lakh Cochin Masters, the second of seven event PGTI Super Series at Cial Golf and Country Club, Nedumbaserry, near on Friday.
One of the most experienced golfer in the circuit Sanjay, 42, who turned pro in 1998, was in the sole lead till the 17the hole when the Delhi boy birdied in the 16th hole to catch up with the leader.Rashid had two birdies while Sanjay got birdies in the 11th, 14th and 16th holes.
Sanjay shot a three-under-33 on the penultimate day while overnight leader Rashid shot a two-under to finish with seven-under-101.
Meanwhile, there is a three-way tie for third place between Gurgaon's Shubhankar Sharma, only 18, and Sri Lankans Anura Rohana and K Prabagaran at five-under-103.
Sanjay's (33-35-33) round of 33 made him a title contender. The veteran was tied second to overnight. "I am pleased with my game although it was windy today, at least for me and best part was that I played without making any errors. In round three, my best were my wedge shots. I have collected only one bogey so far in three days of play and I strongly believe that I'm in strong contention. On the final round I should not drop shots as this was shortened to nine-holes. I hope to leave a mark here in Kochi with a title," Sanjay said.
Rashid (32-35-34) continued his momentum and has not dropped a single stroke till now. His talent was on display, on the 15{+t}{+h}. The Asian Tour winner held in Delhi early this year, knocked down a mammoth 30-footer for birdie. In the 17th his tee shot stopped within six feet, to pocket his second birdie
"In this version, one has to play aggressively which I did. I hit the ball well and I didn't bogey. I had setbacks when I did not putt well on the greens and missed some," said Rashid who felt that his triumph in Asian Tour gave a huge boost to his confidence. "There won't be any let up on final round on Saturday. I expect good fight from Subhankar and Sanjay."
Meanwhile teen from Shubhankar fired 33, his second and is in joint third with Sri Lankans K Prabagaran and Anura Rohana.
Ashok Kumar, Himmat Singh Rai, Chiragh Kumar and KPS Sekhon shot the day's best score of four-under-32. While Ashok and Himmat are in tied 16th place, Chiragh tied 29th and Sekhon is in tied 35th. Rahil Gangjee occupies tied 11th place along with Digvijay Singh at two-under-106. Anirban Lahiri is in joint 20th place at even-par-108. He returned a 36 on Friday.
Local lads Joseph Joseph and KJ Alexander are placed tied 117th and 120th respectively.