Coal India Open: Angad Cheema takes pole position in round three

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], August 8 : Angad Cheema (69-67-69) of Chandigarh returned a steady three-under 69 to move into the lead in round three of the Coal India Open being played at the Kensville Golf and Country Club in Ahmedabad. Angad's total score read 11-under 205.

Amardeep Malik (69-65-72) of Noida carded an even-par 72 in the penultimate round to occupy second position at a total of 10-under 206.

Karandeep Kochhar (69-70-69), another Chandigarh golfer, signed for a 69 to be placed third on Thursday.

Pune's Udayan Mane who began the week with a 78 in round one, fired a 66 for the second straight day to make a brilliant comeback and huge strides on the leaderboard. He gained 11 spots on Thursday to be placed tied fourth at six-under 210 along with Delhi's Arjun Prasad (69).

Delhi-based Rakshit Dahiya, the only amateur to make the cut, ended the day in 10th position at two-under 214 following a round of 71.

Ahmedabad's Varun Parikh came up with a 72 to be tied 13th at even-par 216.

Angad Cheema, who was overnight second, two shots off the lead, made a rock-solid start, making pars all through the front nine. The 35-year-old Cheema, the winner of the last PGTI event in April this year, began the back-nine with a bogey on the 10th but came roaring back with four birdies thereafter including three from a range of 10 to 15 feet.

Angad said, "I played a steady round today, hitting all greens in regulation. My putter got hot on the back-nine that helped me sink a lot of long putts. That was the big difference between my front-nine and back-nine.

"Playing the qualifying event of The Open in the UK this summer, was a memorable experience and gave me great international exposure as I competed in a strong field at a links course in conditions totally different from what we're used to here in India. I would say it benefitted my game a lot. Taking a break from golf during the off-season has also helped me come back fresh and eager to perform well, " added Angad.

Amardeep Malik, the overnight leader by two shots, made three birdies and three bogeys on Thursday to drop down to second position. Malik is still within touching distance of the lead, being just one shot back.

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