Ahmedabad, March 6 Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja found his way back to the top of the leaderboard and made his good putting form count as he pulled ahead into an imposing five-shot lead in the third round of the INR 1 crore Ahmedabad Open 2025 being played at the Kensville Golf & Country Club near here on Thursday.
The 43-year-old Thangaraja (65-73-69), the Round One leader who had slipped to second place, one spot behind on Day Two, struck a solid three-under 69 on Thursday to regain his lead and move his total to nine-under 207, thus opening up a huge gap over the rest of the field.
Thangaraja, now the hot favourite, will be searching for his fifth PGTI title and his first win since 2023 come Friday. Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta (70-67-75), the halfway leader, carded a 75 in the penultimate round to drop down to tied second place at four-under 212.
Mysuru’s Yashas Chandra (72-70-70), the only player to have not returned an over-par score in the tournament so far, came up with a second straight 70 to gain one spot and join Gupta in the tied second position. Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh (69) was in tied fifth place at one-under 215. Former PGTI Order of Merit winner Manu Gandas of Gurugram carded the day’s best score of 67 to be placed tied 10th at two-over 218.
Thangaraja, who had a poor day with the putter in Round Two, produced a contrasting third round, having turned around his putting form. Thanga made four birdies, all of which came as a result of conversions from six feet. He dropped a lone bogey.
“I made 16 greens in regulation today, landed it close consistently, and sank most putts. I’m glad I was able to regain my putting form just before the all-important final round," Thangaraja said. “My ability to play the low shot well helped me a lot in the windy conditions here at Kensville. The low shot always gives an advantage of about five to six yards when playing in windy conditions. I’m now keen to get back to winning ways,” he added.
Yashas Chandra made three birdies and a bogey during his round of 70 while Harendra Gupta conceded three bogeys during his 75.
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