Sri Lankan Anura Rohana followed up his stunning second-round 10-under 61 with a top-class five-under-66 in round three of the 16th TATA Open 2017 to storm into a three-shot lead on an extremely windy day at the Golmuri Golf Course here on Saturday.
Kolkata's Raju Ali Mollah was on track to revive his 2017 season as his three-under 68 took him to second place at 14-under-199 -- three strokes behind Rohana at the Rs. 1 crore event.
Rohana s (69-61-66) occupying tied second and one off the lead at the start of the day scored early birdies on the second and fourth to contend for the lead. But a couple of missed opportunities from close range cost him bogeys on the fifth and sixth.
The 44-year-old Anura a four-time winner on the PGTI then began his recovery with a birdie on the ninth. He followed that up with four more on the back-nine to achieve his target for the day a five-under.
Rohana who won on the PGTI earlier this year said, "I came back well after the two bogeys on the front-nine to end the day at 17-under which was my goal at the start of the round. I m happy that I have a three-shot cushion going into the final round considering that today was a tough day for scoring due to the wind.
"The birdie on the 17th was my best today. The 20-feet conversion on the 17th gave me a lot of confidence and will help me begin the last round in a positive frame of mind.
"The plan for round four is that I ll look for a score of four to five under to set up a good chance of winning. However I ll try to play steady on the front-nine and then assess the situation at the turn " added Anura who is currently in 12th place on the PGTI Order of Merit.
Kolkata s Raju Ali Mollah (66-65-68) made a move from overnight fourth to second place as a result of his solid 68. Raju s brilliant third round saw him make a tap-in for eagle on the second followed by three birdies and two bogeys.
The 40-year-old Raju a former winner on the PGTI has had a quiet season with just one top-10 out of 14 starts to be placed 67th on the Order of Merit. Mollah s performance at Jamshedpur has somewhat rescued his season as he is now likely to retain his tour card by finishing inside the top-60.
Noida golfer Vikrant Chopra s bogey-free 64 the best score of the day helped him close the penultimate round in tied third place at 13-under 200 total along with Om Prakash Chouhan (65) of Mhow and Delhi s Shamim Khan (67).
Chandigarh s Abhijit Singh Chadha the second round leader dropped to tied 10th place at 10-under-203 after a round of 74 on Saturday.
Pic: IANS
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