Akshay Sharma retains lead with hard-fought 71 in round three

Coimbatore, Aug 16 (PTI) Chandigarh's Akshay Sharma shrugged off three bogeys on the front-nine to card a one-under 71 and retain his lead after the third round of the Coimbatore Open here on Friday.

Akshay (69-65-71), who was two shots ahead at the halfway stage, now enjoys a one-shot lead at a total of 11-under 205.

Delhi's Sachin Baisoya (70-69-67) kept himself in the hunt with a 67 that placed him tied second at 10-under 206.

Dubai-based Indian rookie Rayhan Thomas, playing his first event on the PGTI this week, produced a solid 69 to also be tied for second along with Baisoya.

Italian Michele Ortolani (67) and Mysuru’s Yashas Chandra (69) were a further shot behind in tied fourth on a tight leaderboard.

Akshay, a two-time winner on the PGTI, managed to weather the storm on a day that witnessed windy conditions from start to finish.

The 33-year-old, who has come close to winning on several occasions in the last two seasons, made a good start on day three with an early birdie on the second hole thanks to an exceptional approach shot.

Thereafter, he suffered a slump with bogeys on the fifth, seventh and eighth where he made a wrong club selection, played a poor chip and missed a short putt.

However, Akshay put all that behind him to make a terrific comeback on the back-nine where he picked up three birdies from a range of six to 15 feet.

Sachin's round was highlighted by a couple of 20-feet conversions including one for eagle on the 13th and some excellent chip-putts.

Sachin, who changed his pitching wedge at the start of the day, credited his good performance on Friday to his outstanding chipping. He gained six spots from his overnight tied eighth position.

Rayhan Thomas (70-67-69), playing at Coimbatore for the first time, mixed four birdies and a bogey during his 69 that pushed him up one spot from his overnight tied third.

The 24-year-old Rayhan made a 50-feet birdie conversion on the 11th and missed out on tying for the lead after his other 50-footer for birdie lipped out on the 18th. PTI ATK TAP