Veer Ahlawat opens two-shot lead at TATA Steel PGTI Players C'ship

Gurugram's Veer Ahlawat shot a sensational seven-under 65 in the third round to pull ahead by two shots on the penultimate day of the TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship here on Thursday.

Veer's total stood at 19-under-197 at the Rs. 30 lakh event.

Patna's Aman Raj fired a 67 to occupy second place at 17-under-199 at the second event of the 2020 TATA Steel PGTI season.

Bengaluru's Mari Muthu made two eagles on way to his 66 to move into third place at 15-under-201.

Gurugram-based Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan became the first player on the PGTI to have achieved the rare feat of making consecutive eagles, both eagle-twos, during his round of 66. He closed the day in tied 16th place at six-under-210.

 

Shubhankar Sharma, the pre-tournament favourite and defending champion, carded a 72 in round three to lie tied 32nd at even-par-216.

Veer (67-65-65), the overnight joint leader, was solid through the first 10 holes making three birdies and an eagle.

Two of Veer's early birdies came from close range, a result of his good ball-striking. On the 10th, Veer made a great recovery from the rough with a nine-iron approach that landed seven feet from the pin and led to an eagle.

Veer, who was also the third-round leader at last week's event in Hyderabad, then slowed down with bogeys on the 11th and 14th making a three-putt on the former and misjudging the wind with a wrong club selection on the latter.

However, the 23-year-old did make further gains setting up birdie conversions within eight feet on the 12th, 16th, 17th and 18th as he managed to end the round with a flurry.

"I was hitting pretty solid and whatever birdies I made were within 10 feet. I found most of the fairways today and my second shots were generally close to the flag. My short-iron and wedge shots were quite accurate today. I also holed those crucial 6 to 7 footers, which were very important to go low on this course," Veer said.

"It's now about driving home the advantage. I will play it hole by hole and not think too far ahead. If I continue to strike the ball the way I've been doing for the past three days, I believe I have a good chance of winning," added Ahlawat, who bagged his maiden title on the PGTI in November last year.

Pune-based Udayan Mane and Bengaluru's S Chikkarangappa returned scores of 67. While Mane was placed fourth at 14-under-202, Chikka was a further shot back in fifth position.

Bengaluru's Khalin Joshi (72) was in seventh at 11-under-205.

Gurugram's Manu Gandas shot the day's best score of 64. He was placed tied eighth at nine-under-207.