Jamal Hossain extends lead to four shots at Telangana Golconda Masters

Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain extended his lead to four shots with a six-under 64 in the third round of the Telangana Golconda Masters. He is followed by Akshay Sharma in second and Khalin Joshi in third, with Vishesh Sharma leading local golfers

Hyderabad: Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain dominated the third round to establish a four-shot lead and emerge as the outright favourite for the title at the NSL Luxe presents Telangana Golconda Masters at the Hyderabad Golf Association golf course here on Thursday.

Jamal (61-62-64), who enjoyed a three-shot advantage at the halfway stage, extended his lead by another shot after returning a score of six-under 64 on Thursday, which moved his total to 23-under 187. The 40-year-old from Dhaka thus continued in the lead for the third day running.

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Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (62-64-65) submitted a score of 65 to continue in second position for the third straight day. Akshay’s total was 19-under 291 at the end of the week’s windiest day, which also saw a light drizzle in the last 30 minutes of play.

Khalin Joshi (65-66-66) of Bengaluru carded a 66 to close the penultimate round in third position at a total of 13-under 197, making a gain of one spot.

Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya and Gurugram’s Manu Gandas fired rounds of 64 to share fourth place at 12-under 198.

Hyderabad’s Vishesh Sharma was the highest-placed local golfer, posting a 67 to be tied 22nd at five-under 205.

Jamal Hossain, a five-time winner on the PGTI, who had gone bogey-free in the first two rounds, continued his fine form on Thursday by picking up seven birdies at the cost of a single bogey. Jamal’s four birdies over the first eight holes included a conversion each from 25 feet and 40 feet.

Hossain’s first bogey of the tournament came on the ninth, where he hit an erratic tee shot. He came roaring back by adding three more birdies thereafter, thanks to his top-class hitting. Jamal drove the green on the Par-4 14th.

“I hit a lot of greens in regulation today as my tee shots and approach shots were spot on. I managed to keep the errors out of my game for the third straight day, with the bogey on the ninth being the only exception. I’m proud of my effort because it was quite a windy day today,” Jamal said later.