Sanjay Kumar, Rashid Khan lead after 3 rounds at Cochin Masters

Kochi: Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow and Delhi’s Rashid Khan ended day three as joint leaders at the PGTI Cochin Masters presented by CIAL Golf and Country Club here today. While Sanjay shot a three-under-33, Rashid came up with a two-under-34 as both players took their three-day tally to seven-under-101. There is a three-way tie for third place between Gurgaon’s Shubhankar Sharma and Sri Lankans Anura Rohana and K Prabagaran at five-under-103. [caption id=“attachment_1476713” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rashid Khan. AFP[/caption] Sanjay’s (33-35-33) round of 33 lifted him from overnight tied second to the top. Sanjay landed his approach within five feet and converted the putt for his first birdie of the day on the 11th. The 42-year-old went on to hole a 15-feet birdie putt on the 14th to move to two-under for the day. Sanjay, winner of six titles, picked up his third and final birdie courtesy a chip to two feet on the 16th. “I was quite pleased with my bogey-free effort today since the wind came into play once again. My wedge shots were the best part of my game in round three.” Rashid (32-35-34), who has not dropped a single stroke in the tournament so far, continued to impress on day three. He knocked down a mammoth 30-footer for birdie on the 15th. The 23-year-old pocketed his second birdie on the par-3 17th where his tee shot stopped within six feet of the flag. Rashid, winner of five titles, said, “I hit the ball well and was steady once again. Importantly, I didn’t drop a bogey. The only disappointment was that I didn’t take all my opportunities on the greens and missed some putts. The win on the Asian Tour has really lifted my spirits and has helped me perform even better.” Shubhankar Sharma fired his second 33 of the tournament to be placed tied third, two behind the joint leaders. K Prabagaran, who won on the PGTI last week, joined Sharma in third along with fellow Sri Lankan Anura Rohana. The Delhi duo of Gulfam and Kapil Kumar along with Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera are joint sixth at four-under-104. Ashok Kumar, Himmat Singh Rai, Chiragh Kumar and KPS Sekhon shot the day’s best score of four-under-32. While Ashok and Himmat are in tied 16th place, Chiragh lies tied 29th and KPS Sekhon is in tied 35th. Rahil Gangjee occupies tied 11th place along with Digvijay Singh at two-under-106. Anirban Lahiri is in joint 20th place at even-par-108. He returned a 36. PTI