Kolkata, Feb 19 (IANS) Manu Gandas made a move with a six-under 64 in round three to join Shaurya Bhattacharya, who shot a 73, at the top of the leaderboard at the INR 1.5 crore Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Players Championship 2026 being played at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata.
Former DP World PGTI Order of Merit champion Manu Gandas (66-69-64), who was overnight tied seventh and nine shots off the lead, put together an eagle, five birdies, and a bogey on Thursday that moved his total to 11-under 199.
Shaurya Bhattacharya (64-62-73), the halfway leader by four shots, was not at his best on day three as his two birdies and five bogeys saw him slip into the joint lead at 11-under 199. Om Prakash Chouhan (64), Akshay Sharma (64), and Sanjeev Kumar (67) were all tied third at 10-under 200.
Manu Gandas, who is well-versed with the Tollygunge Club course, having won at the venue in the past, was slow off the blocks with his first birdie coming on the Par-3 eighth courtesy a terrific tee shot. Gandas was then on a roll as he followed that up with another birdie on the ninth and a 17-foot eagle conversion on the 10th.
Manu’s bogey on the 12th didn’t trouble him much as he rallied with three birdies thereafter, which included a chip-in on the 14th and an 18-foot conversion on the 15th.
Manu said, “My striking off the tees stood out today, and so did my approach shots. I created a lot of opportunities for myself. I would say that I have not been in the groove so far this season, but I’m slowly getting there. I also like playing at Tollygunge, and I have some good memories of my victory here back in 2024. That is something I will draw inspiration from in the final round.”
Shaurya Bhattacharya, the leader in the first two rounds, had an off day on Thursday as he missed a number of chip-putts.
Shaurya said, “The club selection and the decision-making by me were not correct today. The consistency wasn’t there. I will now look to restart and try to replicate what I did in the first two rounds.”
The Kolkata duo of Mohammad Sanju and Divyanshu Bajaj were both placed tied 36 th at one-under 209.
–IANS
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