Sachin Baisoya carried his consistency into the third day as he broke away into a two-shot lead with a five-under 65. Sachin, searching for his maiden title, tallied 15-under 195 after the penultimate round of the Rs 1 crore TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship presented by Tollygunge Club, the opening event of the season.
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Harsh Gangwar, the overnight joint leader along with Sachin, kept himself in the hunt with a 67. Harsh, playing his second season as a professional and yet to win a title, closed the round in second place at 13-under 197.
US-based rookie Varun Chopra, playing his first event as a pro on the PGTI after coming through last week’s Qualifying School, was placed third at 12-under 198 following his round of 65 on Thursday.
Sachin (64-66-65), who has been in the lead since the start of the event, was on a roll after he sank a 25-feet birdie on the first hole. The 27-year-old Sachin went on to pick up three more shots till the 10th.
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Sachin’s bogey on the 12th didn’t derail his round as he quickly regained ground with a chip-in birdie on the 14th followed by a 20-feet birdie putt on the 16th. The National Games bronze medalist from last year closed out the round with two good par saves on the 17th and 18th.
He said, “My confidence soared after a great tee shot and a long conversion resulted in a birdie on the first hole. I was in good rhythm thereafter on the front-nine. On the back-nine, the chip-in on the 14th got me going. I then made some terrific par saves from tough positions that helped me close the round on a positive note.
“The aim in round four will be to play steady, not miss pars anywhere and take birdie opportunities wherever possible. I’ll be keeping a close watch on the leaderboard.”
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Harsh (66-64-67) was four-under through the front-nine after making an eagle, three birdies and a bogey. The 25-year-old Harsh chipped-in from the bunker for a birdie on the fifth and drained a 25-footer for eagle on the seventh.
However, after his double-bogey on the 10th, the birdies dried up for Harsh as his ball-striking was not as accurate. Harsh could only pick up a stroke on the 15th.
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He said, “I was going well on the front-nine but I didn’t hit it close enough on the back-nine which affected my scoring. I’ll now focus on getting my ball-striking in order so that I can create more opportunities on the final day.”
Angad Cheema (67) and Aman Raj (68) kept themselves in contention as they were tied fourth at 11-under 199.
Defending champion Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (67) moved into tied 25th at four-under 206.
, who has been in the lead since the start of the Players Championship, was on a roll.){kind=link}