Nava Raipur Open: Khalin Joshi returned a one-under 33 to retain a one-shot lead after the third round of the inaugural Rs. 1 crore Nava Raipur Open 2026 at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort on Thursday.
The 34-year-old Bengaluru golfer (29-30-33), who began the day with a two-stroke lead, mixed two birdies with his first bogey of the week to reach 10-under 92 heading into the final round.
Joshi, a two-time winner on the PGTI tour this season and currently 12th in the Race to the India Championship, has dropped only one shot over the opening 27 holes.
Heavy rain on Thursday affected the tournament and left the course unsuitable for full 18-hole rounds, prompting the Tournament Committee to stage each of the tournament’s four rounds on the back nine.
Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema (34-29-30) emerged as Joshi’s closest challenger after a bogey-free four-under 30. The 36-year-old climbed from tied 13th to second at nine-under 93.
Seven players shared third place at eight-under 94, leaving eight golfers within two shots of the lead heading into the final nine holes.
Delhi’s 18-year-old Pritish Singh Karayat (34-31-29) made the day’s biggest move, carding a bogey-free five-under 29 to surge from tied 36th to a seven-way tie for third.
Karayat was joined by Ahmedabad’s Anshul Patel (32-31-31), Bangladesh’s Badal Hossain (33-30-31), Faridabad’s Karan Pratap Singh (32-30-32), Gurugram’s Veer Ahlawat (32-30-32), Chandigarh’s Umed Kumar (33-29-32) and Panchkula’s Raunil Kukar (31-30-33). Kukar slipped from a share of second place after carding a one-under 33.
Joshi admitted he was below his best but took satisfaction in retaining the lead on a difficult day.
“I didn’t have my best game today; I wasn’t driving the ball particularly well, didn’t hit my approaches close enough and wasn’t able to hole many putts. I made a lot of two-putts, but at least I didn’t play myself out of the tournament. I’m still very much in contention, and hopefully I can produce my best golf tomorrow,” Joshi said.
Play was briefly suspended due to rain and lightning, with Joshi recovering strongly after making his only bogey of the week on the 11th.
“The rain and lightning caused a delay of around 15 to 20 minutes. I made a bogey on the 11th after a poor tee shot, but the interruption seemed to restart my round. I responded with birdies on the 12th and 13th, which were the highlights of the day,” he said.
Play was briefly suspended due to rain and lightning, with Joshi recovering strongly after making his only bogey of the week on the 11th.
Also Read: Special Cricket Stories
“Angad and I know each other well and have been teammates in a couple of events. We have also played a lot of golf together, so there will be good camaraderie between us. It should be an exciting battle, and I’m looking forward to both of us giving it our best in the final round,” he added.