Bengaluru: Sri Lanka’s in-form N Thangaraja capitalized on his recent successes at the PGTI and shot a brilliant five-under 66 in the third round to secure a commanding five-shot lead at the INR 1 crore Bengaluru Open 2025 Powered by IndianOil, held at the Karnataka Golf Association Golf Course (KGA) will be held in Bengaluru.
Thangaraja (66-65-66), who led by one shot overnight, took his total to 16-under 197, giving him a comfortable lead over the rest of the field and making him the clear favorite for the title.
Mohd Azhar of Hyderabad (69-66-67), Manu Gandas of Gurugram (70-63-69) and Viraj Madappa of Kolkata (65-67-70) were tied for second at 11-under 202.
Khalin Joshi was the highest ranked among the Bengaluru-based players as he finished eighth with an eight-under 205. Khalin posted the lowest total score of the day with a 65.
Defending champion Abhinav Lohan of DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, shot 71 to finish 19th at five-under 208.
Noida’s Kanav Chauhan (72), the only amateur to make it, was tied for 31st with a score of under 212.
N Thangaraja, currently third in the PGTI Order of Merit with one win and one second place in the last three events, started the day with a good performance by sinking a pair of 20-foot birdies on the first and third holes. Thangaraja, a two-time winner this season, suffered a minor setback when he attempted three putts on the fourth hole. Thanga’s first-class shots helped him to four more birdies.
Thangaraja said: “After the good start today, I had a blemish on the fourth hole, but the most important thing is that I didn’t lose concentration and came back well after that. It was my best putting day so far this week. I also hit 15 regulation greens.”
“I feel like I’m in good shape at the moment with consistent performances over the last few weeks. I’ll try to continue playing in the same way in the fourth round by sticking to the process and not thinking too much about the result. The most important thing for me is not to get complacent about the big lead and instead focus on each shot.”
With 67 points, Mohd Azhar moved up four places from his overnight tie for sixth place. Manu Gandas’ 69 helped him move up one place from his third place overnight.
Viraj Madappa, who was the sole runner-up after the second day, finished the penultimate lap in second place along with Azhar and Manu.
