Delhi's Veer Ahlawat took a flight to the top of the leaderboard with a superb eight-under-62 in round three of the CG Open 2017, a Rs. 1 crore event being played at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC).
The 21-year-old Ahlawat, searching for his maiden title, led the field by two shots at a total of 15-under-195.
Delhi's Rashid Khan, a two-time runner-up at the CG Open, came up with a scorching error-free 61, the week's lowest score, to climb into tied second at 13-under-197 along with defending champion Shamim Khan (64) of Delhi and M Dharma (64) of Bengaluru.
Ahlawat (66-67-62), who lost in a playoff to the experienced Shamim at PGTI's last event in Assam two weeks back, put himself in contention once again with a round featuring two eagles, five birdies and a bogey that catapulted him from overnight tied fourth to the first position.
Ahlawat, playing only his second season as a professional, was two off the lead at the start of the day but made his moves early with an eagle chip-in on the first followed by birdies on the third and fourth. He continued to be four-under for the day till the 14th before picking up four more shots on the last four holes.
Currently 16th in the PGTI Order of Merit, Ahlawat made his second chip-in of the day for birdie on the 15th and produced his second eagle of the day with a seven feet conversion on the 18th.
Ahlawat said, "My short game was fantastic today, especially my chipping. I've sunk four eagles so far this week and that's been one of the highlights for me.
"My performance at the last event gave me a lot of confidence. I've been driving and striking it well over the first three days so the focus in the final round will be on putting."
Two-time Asian Tour winner Rashid (69-67-61) skyrocketed from overnight tied 20th to tied second as a result of his 61 that fell just one short of Om Prakash Chouhan's 2014 course record of 10-under-60.
Rashid, who lost in two playoffs to finish second at the CG Open in 2012 and 2013, made three conversions from 20 to 40 feet during his third round.
The 2016 PGTI Order of Merit champion Rashid, who now has a third attempt at winning the CG Open, said, "After three consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th, I knew I could go really deep."
Reigning champion Shamim (70-63-64) rose from tied fourth to tied second aided by a 64 that saw him make four birdie conversions from a range of 15 to 35 feet.
Shamim will be looking for a second straight win having triumphed at the last event in Digboi two weeks back. A top result here could see him reemerge as the PGTI Order of Merit leader.
M Dharma too jumped up two places to tied second with a 64.
Ahmedabad-based Udayan Mane (66), the PGTI Order of Merit leader, occupied fifth place at 12-under-198.
Second round leader Akshay Sharma of Chandigarh dropped to tied 16th after a 73 that saw his score move to six-under- 204.
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