PGTI: Thangaraja surges to round 3

December 13, 2013: Srilanka’s N Thangaraja continued his lead to the third straight day at the PGTI Players Championship at Noida Golf Course after he shot a one-under-71. Thangaraja thus built a five-shot lead ahead of the final round as his total read five-under-211. M Dharma of Bangalore, Nepal’s Shivaram Shrestha, Kolkata’s Raju Ali Mollah, Bangladeshi Md Zamal Hossain Mollah and Ranjit Singh of Chandigarh are currently in tied second place.

Thangaraja (68-72-71), the overnight joint leader, took a giant leap towards his maiden professional title after firing a tenacious 71 in testing conditions on Friday. The 32-year-old was on fire on the first 10 holes as he picked up five birdies against a lone bogey. Thangaraja displayed some superb iron-play as he landed his approach shots within three feet on three occasions for birdies on the second, sixth and seventh. He chipped-in from the bunker for birdie on the fifth and sank a 15-feet birdie putt on the 10th.

[highlight] I enjoy a comfortable lead at the moment but I need to make a solid start in the final round in order to capitalize on the advantage [/highlight]

Thangaraja’s tee shots were off the mark on the 12th, 13th and 16th. He also missed chip-putts on these holes and as a result dropped bogeys.

“I played really well on the first 10 holes but struggled with my tee shots and my short-game thereafter. I hit it well with the 3-wood. I’ll look to make maximum fairways and greens in the final round and play some consistent golf. I enjoy a comfortable lead at the moment but I need to make a solid start in the final round in order to capitalize on the advantage,” said Thangaraja, who finished runner-up at PGTI’s event in Sri Lanka last week.

Ranjit Singh, the overnight joint leader, slipped to tied second place after returning a 76 in round three that took his total to even-par-216. Ranjit was joined by M Dharma, Shivaram Shrestha, Raju Ali Mollah and Md Zamal Hossain Mollah in tied second place. Dharma fired a 69 on Friday.