Ahmedabad, March 3 Manu Gandas (36-34-68) of Gurugram, the runner-up at the Glade One Masters last year, will once again have a shot at the title come Friday as his third round of four-under 68 propelled him four places into a two-shot lead at a total of six-under 138.
Delhi's Shamim Khan (35-37-68), a 15-time winner on the PGTI, also struck a 68 on day three to gain 16 spots and be placed second at four-under 140. Aalaap I L (35-40-67) of Mysuru set the course record with his round of five-under 67 to end the day in tied third place at two-under 142 along with Gurugram's Kartik Sharma (36-35-71). Aalaap fired six birdies and a bogey enroute his 67 that pushed him up 43 spots.
The first two rounds of the event comprised nine holes each. The third and fourth rounds comprise 18 holes each. The tournament will be played over a total of 54 holes. The par for the course in the third and fourth rounds is 72.
Manu Gandas, who was tied fifth after round two, found most fairways on day three and created many birdie opportunities from short range thanks to his accurate approach shots. Five of his six birdies came from a range of 10 feet. Manu's sixth and last birdie of the day was a 30-feet conversion on the 17th. Gandas also dropped a couple of bogeys.
Manu, who won his maiden title on the PGTI last season, said, "I have some good memories from my last outing here as I had finished second. That gave me confidence coming into this week. I also had a terrific season last year so I feel I'm still in that zone and continuing from where I left.
"Today I took it one shot at a time and tried to stay in the present without thinking too ahead despite the flurry of birdies from the sixth to the 14th."
Shamim Khan, who was overnight tied 18th, benefited from a hot putter in round three as he drained a 30-footer and four 12-footers in his five birdies. Shamim had a lone bogey on Friday.
Among the Gujarat-based golfers, Varun Parikh was tied 16th at two-over 146 while Anshul Patel was tied 42nd at eight-over 152.
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