Ahmedabad, Oct 22 (IANS) The 25-year-old Shaurya Sharma of India carded the third day’s best score of five-under 67 to storm into a one-shot lead at a total of four-under 212 at the Final Qualifying Stage of the PGTI Qualifying School 2026-27, being played at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Chandigarh-based Shaurya (71-74-67), who was overnight tied seventh and five shots off the lead at the halfway stage, moved up six spots as a result of his five birdies on Thursday.

Round one leader Md Siddikur Rahman (69-73-71) of Bangladesh and Indian amateur Arin Ahuja (70-73-70) occupied tied second place at three-under 213.

Shaurya Sharma, a regular on the PGTI since 2025, staged a great fightback after ending round two in tied seventh place. Shaurya, who hails from Chandigarh, was sharp with his short game on day three as he rolled in a 25-footer and a 15-footer for birdies and also produced some great wedge shots to leave himself three tap-in birdies.

Shaurya said, “The long conversions on the third and eighth gave me early momentum. I backed that up with three outstanding wedge shots to end the day high on confidence. I also saved par by draining a long putt on the 13th. I nearly holed-out my second shot on the 12th. This course has provided a tough challenge, but I’m happy to be hitting form at the right time with just one round to go.”

Interestingly, Nim Dorji Tamang became the first player from Bhutan to make the halfway cut in the Final Stage of the PGTI Q School.

Earlier, Aditya Bhandarkar took a two-shot lead at a total of four-under 140 following his second-round effort of three-under 69 at the Final Qualifying Stage of the PGTI Qualifying School 2026-27.

Bhandarkar (71-69), who was overnight tied sixth, moved up five spots on Wednesday as a result of his round of 69 that featured five birdies and two bogeys.

Round one leader Md Siddikur Rahman (69-73) of Bangladesh returned a 73 to slip into tied second position along with Indians Joysurjo Dey (73-69) and Vedant Sirohi (71-71) at a total of two-under 142.

The halfway cut went at 12-over 156. Out of a field of 123, the top 80 players, including 11 amateurs and eight foreign players, made the cut.

Pune-based 37-year-old Aditya Bhandarkar, who finished second at the Pre-Qualifying event at Vooty last week, hit his wedges close, made a couple of tap-in birdies and also drained two long birdie putts in round two.

Aditya said, “I’m carrying forward the confidence and momentum from my good performance at the Pre-Qualifying event last week, where I shot rounds of two-under and four-under to finish second. Today, I was quite calm through the round, stayed in the moment, and handled the hot conditions in the afternoon really well by staying hydrated."

At the end of round four, the top 48 players will earn their full cards for the 2026-27 DP World PGTI season.

--IANS

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