Sandhu (32-34-68), winner of the season-opener in Kolkata last week, returned a steady four-under 68 on Thursday despite a cold putter. The 27-year-old Sandhu thus held on to his overnight lead even though his cushion at the top was reduced from two to just one shot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Delhi golfers Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Arjun Prasad shot the day\u2019s lowest scores of seven-under 65 to close in on the leader as the duo shared second place at nine-under 135. Kshitij and Arjun zoomed up eight spots from their overnight tied 10th position.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Defending champion Abhinav Lohan carded a 68 to gain four spots and end the day in tied sixth place at six-under 138. Ahmedabad\u2019s Varun Parikh (75) was placed tied 39th at one-over 145.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The first two rounds of the event were played on 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. The 9-hole course was played twice in round three with different pin positions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sandhu\u2019s round was highlighted by his solid ball striking as he missed just one green. He made five birdies till the 11th before dropping his only bogey of the day on the 13th. Sandhu scored birdies on three out of the four par-5s and produced an excellent tee shot for a tap-in birdie on the par-3 fourth hole.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
At the end of the day's play, Sandhu said, \u201cI enjoyed a hot start today but the cold putter led to a quiet back-nine. Leading despite not being at my best with the putter for two consecutive days is quite satisfying. I\u2019m looking forward to the prospect of playing alongside my good friend and roommate Arjun Prasad. I\u2019ve never played in a leader group with him, so it would be fun.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sandhu\u2019s round was highlighted by his solid ball striking as he missed just one green. He made five birdies till the 11th before dropping his only bogey of the day on the 13th. Sandhu scored birdies on three out of the four par-5s and produced an excellent tee shot for a tap-in birdie on the par-3 fourth hole.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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