PGTI Tour Championship: Yashas Chandra Takes the Lead, Udayan Mane Hot on His Trail After Day 3
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Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Dec 21 (NationPress) Yashas Chandra M.S. from Mysuru climbed to the top of the leaderboard with a remarkable five-under 66 in the third round of the INR 3 crore Tour Championship 2024, the season-concluding event of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) taking place at the Beldih and Golmuri Golf Courses here on Saturday.
Yashas (69-64-66), who started the day in fifth place and four shots behind the leader, surged up four positions as his total score reached 14-under 199. Despite yet to secure a title, Yashas holds a narrow one-shot advantage. Udayan Mane (67-65-68), a two-time winner of the TATA Steel Tour Championship, recorded a consistent 68, moving up to second position at 13-under 200. Tied for third place at 12-under 201 are Sudhir Sharma from Greater Noida (67) and Sri Lankan player N Thangaraja (70).
The initial three rounds of this lucrative PGTI event featured half of the players starting at the Golmuri Golf Course and finishing at Beldih, while the other half did the reverse. This format will also continue into the fourth and final round of the tournament in Jamshedpur, with a par set at 71. The leading groups will commence at Golmuri and conclude at Beldih.
Yashas Chandra, positioned eighth on the PGTI merit list with seven top-10 finishes this season, delivered a commendable performance hitting 16 greens in regulation on Saturday. The 29-year-old golfer from Mysuru was particularly impressive on the front nine, where he achieved four birdies, two from distances of 15 to 20 feet and two on the Par-5 holes.
After the turn, Yashas added another birdie on the Par-5 12th hole. Although he struggled to make putts on the back nine, he maintained his lead by scoring pars all the way to the finish.
Yashas commented, “I’m thrilled with how well I struck the ball today. I also placed it close on both courses. My only regret was missing a few putts here at Beldih. I felt my tee shots were better than in the previous rounds, which made a significant difference.”
He added, “The primary challenge here in Jamshedpur is getting the speed of the greens correct on both courses. That’s why we need to practice some putts here at Beldih before we resume our round after coming from Golmuri. Given this low-scoring course, I realize I must be aggressive in the final round. There will be many low scores tomorrow, so I must also aim for a low score to stay competitive.”
Udayan Mane, like Yashas, made steady advancements in round three. Udayan played well throughout the day, collecting four birdies against a single bogey. He almost drove the green on the Par-4 fourth hole, leaving himself a tap-in birdie on the eighth hole. However, he faced some misfortune with a few putts that just missed, including a couple that lip-out.
Yuvraj Sandhu from Chandigarh achieved a tournament-low score of eight-under 63, which included five consecutive birdies. Yuvraj is tied for sixth at 10-under 203, alongside TATA Steel PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat (68). C. Muniyappa from Bengaluru scored a hole-in-one on the seventh while shooting 69, placing him tied for eighth at nine-under 204. Defending champion and two-time tournament winner Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) is one shot behind in tied 10th place.
The three professionals from Jamshedpur—Karan Taunk (three-over 216), Kurush Heerjee (11-over 224), and Digvijay Singh (15-over 228)—are positioned tied 49th, tied 56th, and 61st respectively.
