Jamal dominates 3rd round, takes 4-shot lead

Bangladesh golfer Jamal Hossain dominated the third round with a sensational six-under 64 to establish a four-shot lead at the Rs 1 crore Telangana Golconda Masters here on Thursday.

Jamal (61-62-64), who enjoyed a three-shot advantage at the halfway stage, extended his lead by another shot to move his total to 23-under 187.

The 40-year-old from Dhaka thus emerged as the outright favourite to win the title at the Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA).

“I hit a lot of greens in regulation today as my tee shots and approach shots were spot on. I managed to keep the errors out of my game for the third straight day, with the bogey on the ninth being the only exception. I’m proud of my effort because it was quite a windy day today,” Jamal said.

Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (62-64-65) submitted a score of 65 to continue in second position for the third straight day. Akshay’s total read 19-under 291 at the end of the week’s most windy day which also witnessed a light drizzle in the last 30 minutes of play.

Khalin Joshi (65-66-66) of Bengaluru carded a 66 to close the penultimate round in third position at a total of 13-under 197 thus making a gain of one spot.

Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya and Gurugram’s Manu Gandas fired rounds of 64 to share fourth place at 12-under 198.

Delhi’s Arjun Prasad, currently second in the PGTI’s merit list, shot a second consecutive 65 to rise two spots to sixth place at 11-under 199.