Thangaraja opens dominant lead in round three of Bengaluru Open

Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja took advantage of Moving Day by a shot to extend his lead to five strokes on the KGA course in the third round of the Bengaluru Open on Thursday. Image courtesy of PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji

Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja made Moving Day of the Rs 1 crore Bengaluru Open his own at the Karnataka Golf Association course and opened a solid five-shot lead on Thursday.

The veteran Sri Lankan was already a two-time winner this season, shooting a 5-under par 66 at the event powered by IndianOil for a total of 16-under 197 after 54 holes, the PGTI said.

Thangaraja (66-65-66) is now a clear favorite to add to his season’s tally and enter the Order of Merit on Friday.

Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar (69-66-67), Gurgaon’s Manu Gandas (70-63-69) and Kolkata’s Viraj Madappa (65-67-70) shared second place at 11-]under 202.

Khalin Joshi was the top-seeded player from Bangalore in a tie for eighth place at 8-under 205, matching the day’s low card of 65.

Defending champion Abhinav Lohan (71) was 19th at 5-under 208, while Noida’s Kanav Chauhan (72), the only amateur to make the cut, was tied at 31^st at 1 under 212.

Thangaraja, third on the PGTI Order of Merit with a win and a second-place finish to his name in his last three starts, started the day solidly with two early birdies.

Small stumbling block

He then suffered a minor setback, three putting for bogey on the fourth hole, but recovered with four more birdies.

“After a good start I had a blemish on the fourth hole, but more importantly I didn’t lose focus and came back well,” said Thangaraja.

“It was my best putting day yet this week. I also hit 15 greens in regulation.

“I’m in a good position at the moment with consistent performances over the last few weeks.

“I will aim to continue playing the same way in the fourth round by sticking to the process and not thinking too much about the result.

“The most important thing for me is not to get complacent because of the big lead and instead concentrate on every shot.”

Azhar’s 67 moved him up four spots from tied for sixth on the night, while Gandas’ 69 helped him move up one spot from third on the night.

Also read: N. Thangaraja takes lead at halfway at Bengaluru Open

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