Sandhu keeps share of lead, Madappa rises to 4th with 65 in Taiwan

India's Ajeetesh Sandhu struck four birdies and two bogeys for a third round score of 70, sharing the lead with with Philippino Miguel Tabuena at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters golf tournament here on Saturday.

While Sandhu (70) battled it out with two-time Asian Tour winner Tabuena (68), another Indian Viraj Madappa shot a seven-under 65, after 72-72 on first two days, to be Tied-fourth.

Thailand's Suradit Yongcharoenchai returned with a 68 and was third. Madappa shared fourth place with Bangladesh's Siddikur Rahman, who posted a 68 at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club.

Among other Indians, S Chikkarangappa (74) was Tied-15th, while the duo of Khalin Joshi (73) and Rashid Khan (74) were Tied-26th. Chiragh Kumar (78) dropped to Tied-47th.

Sandhu stumbled early with a bogey on the par-three second before steadying the ship with birdies on holes nine, 11, 13 and 15. The Indian, searching for his second Asian Tour win, parred the 16th and 17th holes before another bogey on 18 denied him the outright lead.

"I'm tied for the lead so I'm really excited about that. But I'm not getting ahead of myself. I just want to keep on doing what I've been doing the last few days. Whenever you're in the lead or tied for the lead going into the last round, you know you're in a for a good chance and you got to take advantage of that," Sandhu said.

Tabuena started the day two shots back of overnight leader Sandhu. After making five straight pars, the Filipino started to make his move with birdies on holes six and eight. He charged after the turn with three birdies in his next five holes before dropping his only shot on 18.

"I'm really happy with the way I played. Probably, the most fun I've had on the golf course the whole year. I think there wasn't really a target when I started off. I just tried to have a good time and things just seemed to fall into place the first five or six holes," Madappa said.

"And then the wind kind of picked up. So, it was playing a little difficult towards the end, but really happy with the way I played. On the last hole, I hit an errant tee shot and didn't put myself in a really good position for the third shot, so I mean, it's just a bogey. I mean, it's fine. Mistakes happen. And all in all, I'm happy with it," he added.