Competition in the Rs.1 crore CG Open tournament is likely to go down to the wire, with Khalin Joshi returning a third round card of seven-under 63 to tie with Shubhankar Sharma at the top of the leader board with a tally of 197.
One stroke behind the leaders are Rashid Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Kapil Kumar.
Overnight leader C. Muniyappa shot a three over on Friday to slip down to 12th.
In direct contrast, Joshi, who was 12th overnight, raised his game to reel off seven birdies.
“My putting was much better today. I hope it is at its best in the final round. The two par saves on the fourth and 14th were crucial for my round,” Joshi said.
Sharma shot a 65, sank three tap-in birdies on the first four holes before three-putting on the seventh.
“On the final day, I’ll just need to keep hitting it like I’ve done in the first three rounds,” he said. “I’ll also look to sharpen my putting going into the final round.”
Veer Ahlawat shot a hole-in-one on the sixth, but he is far behind at 24th.
Leading scores: 197: Khalin Joshi (67, 67, 63), Shubhankar Sharma (63, 69, 65); 198: Rashid Khan (66, 68, 64), Sanjeev Kumar (67, 66, 65), Ajeetesh Sandhu (66, 66, 66), Kapil Kumar (64, 67, 67).
