Ahmedabad Sep 1 (IANS) Mukesh Kumar of Mhow continued to hold the advantage in the third round of the inaugural TAKE Classic despite a sedate even-par-72 that saw his lead being cut down to two shots here on Friday.
Mukesh s three-day total read 11-under-205 at the Rs 50 lakh event.
Chandigarh s Ajeetesh Sandhu who shot the third day s best score of six-under-66 is likely to be Mukesh s biggest challenger on the final day. Sandhu closed the penultimate round in second place at nine-under-207.
Earlier in the day the second round incomplete due to the rain on Thursday was completed by 9 am. Mukesh Kumar held a four-shot lead at 11-under-133 at the halfway stage.
Udayan Mane occupied second at seven-under-137. The cut went at five-over-149 with 51 players making it to the money rounds.
Mukesh Kumar (68-65-72) struggled to match his effort from the previous two rounds on a day that was characterized by bright sunshine and the absence of rain in sharp contrast from the last two days.
The 52-year-old veteran s three birdies were accompanied by an equal number of bogeys as his putter went cold.
Mukesh who has three top-5s this year including a win in Kochi had a horrid time on the par-5 12th where he found the water with his second shot and as a result dropped a bogey.
"I didn t putt as well as round two and also didn t make as many greens in regulation. I also made an error in judgment by attacking the green on the 12th instead of playing safe.
"The missed chip-putt on the 18th turned out to be quite expensive. Had I made that for par a three-shot lead would ve been ideal going into the last round " Mukesh said after his round.
"It ll now be about summoning all my experience on the final day and striking the ball much better than today. I ve never won at Kalhaar so I want to set the record straight.
"To be honest the younger players such as Ajeetesh and Udayan have a better chance than me as they hit it longer than me and that counts a lot on this course. So I feel if I win tomorrow I wouldn t have won without help from them " he added.
"I m also very keen on winning the PGTI Order of Merit title which I last won nine years back in 2008. A tournament win here would pave the way for my Order of Merit ambitions."
Ajeetesh Sandhu (72-69-66) lying tied eighth and eight shots off the lead after round two worked his way up to second place after a determined 66.
Ajeetesh who like Mukesh also has a win and two other top-5s to his credit this season produced a strong front-nine with four straight birdies from the third to the sixth.
He added three more birdies on the back-nine at the expense of a solitary bogey to emerge as a major contender for the title.
Sri Lankan N. Thangaraja and Bengaluru s Udayan Mane struck scores of 70 and 72 respectively to be tied third at seven-under-209.
Delhi s Honey Baisoya (71) and Anura Rohana (72) were a further shot back in tied fifth.
Delhi s Chiragh Kumar was tied 10th at two-under-214 while Shamim Khan (Order of Merit leader) another Delhi golfer occupied tied 14th place at one-under-215.
Panchkula-based Shubhankar Sharma was tied 24th at three-over-219 while Bengaluru s Khalin Joshi was tied 33rd at five-over-221.
--IANS
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