SCORESHEET
Day 2
Day 1

August 14th 2009, Eagleton - The Golf Resort, Bangalore: Gaganjeet Bhullar posted a three under 69 to lead the pack after round three of the PGTI Players Championship presented by Eagleton – The Golf Resort, an Aircel PGTI event. Bhullar thus strengthened his claim to win his fourth PGTI title of the season as his total score read 10 under 206.

Kolkata’s Raju Ali Mollah, who was the joint second round leader along with Bhullar, fired a one under 71 on Friday to be placed second at eight under 208.

Bhullar (68, 69, 69) had an ideal start to his round as he birdied the first hole, courtesy a lob wedge approach shot that stopped just one foot short of the hole. He soon stepped on the gas with birdies on the fifth, seventh and eighth to make the turn at four under. Then against the run of play, the 21-year-old dropped a bogey on the 11th as he three-putted from 25 feet. He was very steady from there on, making seven successive pars from the 12th to the 18th.

“My front nine was quite good and the back nine was very consistent. I had only one blemish on my card today, the bogey on the 11th. I couldn’t have asked for a better start, having hit my second shot to within one foot of the pin on the first. It was heartening to see some long putts sink in on the fifth and eighth. I was also pleased by my effort on the seventh, where I recovered from the rough and made birdie,” said Bhullar.

He added, “My target for the tournament is around 13 to 14 under. I’m hitting the ball well so I’ll continue to concentrate on my swing on the last day.”

Raju Ali Mollah (70, 67, 71) could provide Bhullar a tough challenge on the final day as he is just two strokes behind the leader at the moment. Raju began poorly, making bogeys on the first two holes. He then sank a birdie putt from 15 feet on the third to get his confidence going. An excellent nine iron second shot on the fifth earned him another birdie. A bogey followed on the sixth when he found the greenside bunker. The 31-year-old picked up two more strokes with birdies on the seventh and 10th.

Raju said, “I did not have great start as I made three-putts from 20 feet on the first and second to drop two strokes. But then I started hitting it really close and earned some crucial birdies. On the par five seventh, my third shot hit the flag stick, while on the 10th a chip shot for eagle, lipped out. I had a steady back nine, making pars on the last eight holes. However, I did miss some easy birdie opportunities on the back nine.”

He added, “It’s essential that my putting comes good on the final day. I’m also glad that I’m placed second at the moment as holding the lead heading into the final round has its own pressures.”

Ali Sher (66, 72, 71) and Anura Rohana (67, 71, 71) are tied third at seven under 209. Ali Sher was in the joint lead along with Bhullar until the 12th hole, having sunk birdies on the first, third, sixth and 10th, but double bogeys on the 13th and 16th and a bogey on the 18th derailed his third round effort.

Delhi’s Vikrant Chopra, whose 68 was the best round of the day, shares fifth place along with another Delhi golfer Vinod Kumar at five under 211.

Ashok Kumar and Bangalore-based amateur Abhishek Jha are joint seventh with identical scores of four under 212. Digvijay Singh is a further stroke behind in ninth place.

Bangalore’s R Srinivas is tied 14th with a total score of one under 215 while Mukesh Kumar lies tied 29th at four over 220.