Trishul, Mane close in on professional tour tickets

City lads Udayan Mane and Trishul Chinnappa took a huge step towards securing their pro card after dishing out solid performances in the third round of the PGTI Final Qualifying Stage-2015 here on Thursday.

While leading amateur Mane, following two ordinary outings at his home Eagleton Golf Resort, bounced back with a splendid five-under 67 to rise to fourth spot (212), All-India Amateur Champion Trishul shot a second straight 69 to share the fifth spot with Sudhir Sharma.

With top 37 players and ties earning full cards for the 2015 season, both Mane and Trishul, barring any final round meltdowns, should be able to secure their tickets.

Things, however, are going downhill for another talented Bengalurean Syed Saqib Ahmed, who slipped to tied 60th following a horrendous 79.

Ajay Baisoya took control of proceedings as the lead changed hands for the third straight day. The Delhiite shot 68 to take a two-shot lead after totalling 208. Ravinder Tavel (68) and overnight leader Vijitha Bandara (71) shared the second spot.

“While my hitting got me into a good position after the first two rounds, today it was my short game that did the trick. I rolled in some long putts and also chipped well. I’m looking to end the week with another good score and carrying this form into the new season,” said Baisoya.

Delhi golfer and two-time Indian Open champion Ali Sher made a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth during his round of 74. He was in tied 19th place at two-over-218.

Leading scores (after 54 holes): 208: Ajay Baisoya (70, 70, 68); 210: Ravinder Tavel (69, 72, 68), Vijitha Bandara (68, 71, 71); 212: Udayan Mane (74, 71, 67); 213: Sudhir Sharma (67, 76, 70), Trishul Chinnappa (75, 69, 69), Anirudh Goyal (69, 72, 72); 214: K Raghav Bhandari (69, 73, 72), Pratap Atwal (69, 73, 72), Arjun Singh (71, 69, 74).