Anirban Lahiri continued with his 62 with an impressive eight-under-64 in round three to march in to a five-stroke lead at the PGTI Eagleburg Open.
To be precise, the local favorite's total score now reads 17-under-199. Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow clinched second place with a 68 which propelled his overall score to 12-under-204. Lahiri who scored 73-62-64 had an exceptional run of six birdies against two bogeys on the last eight holes that assisted him to consolidate his lead.
The 26-year-old had a terrific start to the day as he flew his approach shots from a distance of approximately 100 yards to within a pair of feet on both the first and second holes to accumulate two birdies at the Eagleton Golf Resort.
Lahiri, who became the overnight leader by one shot, made pars on the subsequent seven holes as Kumar drew level with him at the turn. Next, Lahiri started to part from Kumar due to a well-timed 15-feet eagle conversion from the back fringe of the green on the 10th. Consequently, Lahiri had a wonderful run of six birdies against two bogeys on the last eight holes. This aided him consolidate his lead. Ultimately, he landed his approach within 5 feet for birdie on the 11th and found the par-5 15th green in two shots to establish another birdie. He struck birdie putts from a range of 15 to 20 feet on the 13th, 14th, 17th holes.
Lahiri revealed that he enjoyed a good start today but Sanjay Kumar grabbed more opportunities on the front-nine and drew level with him on the ninth. Actually, he needed some momentum at that stage and the 15-feet eagle putt on the 10th did the trick for him. Truly, there was no looking back from that point as he putted much better on the back-nine. Lahiri, who is keen to win his second title in two weeks added that interestingly, he didn't have a single par on the back-nine. He was not that accurate off the tee today but struck some great approach shots with the wedges.
On the other hand, Kumar who scored 69-67-68, hung in there with a 68 to grab the 2nd place. Kumar, who will celebrate his 42nd birthday during the final round tomorrow, scored five birdies against a lone bogey in round three. He is a winner of four professional titles, scored a stunning run of five consecutive birdies from the seventh to the 11th hole before he pulled out his only bogey of the day on the 12th. He golfer converted birdie putts from a range of six to eight feet from the seventh to the 10th. He struck his second shot within a foot of the flag for birdie on the 11th.
S Chikkarangappa of Bangalore scored 72-67-66 and fired a 66 on his home course to jump from overnight tied fourth into third place. He shot an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys in the third round and carried forward his total score to 11-under-205.
Finally, Rahil Gangjee of Kolkata clinched the fourth place at 10-under-206 while Arshpreet Thind of Gurgaon occupied the fifth position at nine-under-207.
