Shubhankar Sharma extends lead at Boulders Classic with 64

Shubhankar Sharma fired an eight-under 64 to extend his lead to seven shots after round three of the Boulders Classic in Hyderabad. He stood at 20-under 196, ahead of Rashid Khan, Angad Cheema and Vishesh Sharma

Hyderabad: Overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma fired an eight-under 64 to extend his lead to seven shots at 20-under 196 after round three of the inaugural Rs 1 crore Boulders Classic being played at the Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club here on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Shubhankar (66-66-64), a two-time DP World Tour winner, matched the course record set by Honey Baisoya a day earlier. Sharma’s round featured nine birdies and just one bogey as he took firm control heading into the final day.

---

Delhi’s Rashid Khan (67-70-66), Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema (68-69-66) and first-round leader Vishesh Sharma (65-70-68) of Hyderabad were tied for second at 13-under 203, seven shots behind the leader. Rashid and Cheema returned matching six-under 66s, while Vishesh carded a four-under 68.

A six-time winner on the DP World PGTI, Shubhankar Sharma is playing his first event on the tour since the Tour Championship in Jamshedpur in December 2021. His last win on the tour came at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship in Kolkata in December 2017.

“I played really solid today, probably hit it the best I have all week,” Sharma said. “Everything was clicking, and even when I lost a bit of momentum, I bounced back quickly with birdies.”

Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, a former Asian Tour winner and five-time winner on the DP World PGTI, carded his third consecutive four-under 68 to move into fifth place at 12-under 204.

DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar carded a six-under 66 to move to 11-under 205 and into a tie for sixth, alongside Honey Baisoya, who followed up his course-record 64 with a three-under 69.

Mohd Azhar (67-70-69) was the other Hyderabad-based professional in the top 10 as he occupied tied eighth place at 10-under 206.

Yuvraj Sandhu (73-68-73), one of the pre-tournament favourites, was tied for 32nd at two-under 214.

With a commanding seven-shot advantage, Sharma will look to maintain his momentum in the final round as he chases his seventh DP World PGTI title and first since 2017.