Hyderabad, April 16 (NationPress) Overnight frontrunner Shubhankar Sharma delivered an impressive eight-under 64, increasing his lead to a whopping seven shots at 20-under 196 after the third round of the inaugural INR 1 crore Boulders Classic, taking place at the Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club in Hyderabad.

The 29-year-old Shubhankar (66-66-64), a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, equaled the course record previously set by Honey Baisoya just a day before. His round included nine birdies and only one bogey, allowing him to seize a commanding position heading into the final day.

Tied for second place at 13-under 203, seven shots behind the leader, are Delhi's Rashid Khan (67-70-66), Chandigarh's Angad Cheema (68-69-66), and the first-round leader Vishesh Sharma (65-70-68) of Hyderabad. Both Rashid and Cheema achieved matching six-under 66s, while Vishesh recorded a four-under 68.

A six-time champion on the DP World PGTI, Shubhankar Sharma is participating in his first event on the tour since the Tour Championship in Jamshedpur in December 2021. His last victory on the tour was 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,” stated Sharma. “Everything was clicking, and even when I lost a bit of momentum, I bounced back quickly with birdies.”

Sharma further emphasized, “It was nice to be hitting it close consistently. You have to get your yardages and wind reads right here, and I felt I did that well.”

He attributed his success over the first three rounds to a positive mindset. “I’ve just been in a happy state of mind and that’s showing on the course,” he explained. “The work is always constant — I haven’t done anything special, just stuck to my process and tried to cut out the mistakes.”

Looking toward the final round, Shubhankar remains composed despite his significant lead. “Even with the lead, the plan is to stay aggressive and stick to the process. I’m just having fun, staying relaxed and doing the same things I’ve done over the last three days.”

Chandigarh's Ajeetesh Sandhu, a former Asian Tour champion and five-time winner on the DP World PGTI, recorded his third consecutive four-under 68, placing him fifth at 12-under 204.

Leading the DP World PGTI Rankings, Saptak Talwar, carded a six-under 66 to reach 11-under 205, tying for sixth with Honey Baisoya, who followed his course-record 64 with a three-under 69.

Mohd Azhar (67-70-69) was another Hyderabad-based professional in the top ten, tied for eighth at 10-under 206.

Yuvraj Sandhu (73-68-73), a pre-tournament favorite, was tied for 32nd at two-under 214.

With a significant seven-shot advantage, Sharma aims to sustain his momentum in the final round as he seeks his seventh DP World PGTI title and his first since 2017.