Khalin Joshi moved within one round of lifting the J&K Open title after carding a brilliant six-under 65 to retain a commanding six-shot lead at the end of the third round at the Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Bengaluru golfer, who began the day with a seven-shot cushion, followed up his opening rounds of 63 and 66 with another composed performance to reach 19-under 194.
Former Asian Tour winner Rashid Khan of Delhi produced the day’s best round of seven-under 64 to climb into sole second place at 13-under 200, six strokes behind the leader.
Joshi Maintains Flawless Momentum
Joshi’s third-round effort featured six birdies without a single bogey, extending his streak without a dropped shot to 37 holes. His only blemish this week remains the bogey on the 17th hole during the opening round.
Despite not finding his best rhythm early in the round, Joshi stayed patient before capitalising on the back nine.
“I didn’t hit the ball as well on the front nine as I had over the first two days, but making two birdies after missing the fairways was important,” Joshi said.
“I found some momentum on the back nine, hit a few good shots and converted some good putts. Overall, I’m feeling confident and positive about my game.”
Looking ahead to the final round, the Bengaluru golfer insisted he would stick to the same strategy.
“Hitting fairways is the key here because it creates plenty of birdie opportunities. My goal tomorrow will be to find as many fairways as possible. If I can do that, I believe the score will follow,” he added.
Sandhu Moves Into Top Three
Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu fired a six-under 65 to move into third place at 11-under 202.
Panipat’s Shubham Jaglan and Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema shared fourth place at nine-under 204 after rounds of 66 and 68 respectively.
DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar carded a 65 to climb into tied sixth at eight-under 205 alongside Kshitij Naveed Kaul.
Panchkula’s Brijesh Kumar produced the tournament’s first hole-in-one on the par-three 11th during his third-round 67 and was tied for 20th place at three-under 210.
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