Thangaraja trudges towards title

Sri Lanka's N Thangaraja shot a resolute four-under-68 to continue the lead for the third straight day at the 50-lac-taka City Bank American Express Chittagong Open yesterday.

Thangaraja, the overnight leader by one shot, extended his lead to two shots at the end of round three to emerge as a prime contender for the title with a total of 16-under-200.

India's Aman Raj brought in a card of 69 to improve his position from overnight tied second to lone second. His three-day total stood at 14-under-202. Aman's compatriot Veer Ahlawat (68) was another shot back in third place.  

Kapil Kumar of India shot a stunning course record score of 10-under-62 at the Bhatiary Golf & Country Club on Friday to move up 13 places to tied fourth at 12-under-204.

Bangladesh's Sajib Ali kept the local interest alive with his third round of 71 that gave him a share of fourth place.

N Thangaraja (65-67-68), who was in contention in the last two PGTI events but slipped on the final day, will look to turn it around on this occasion.

"I wasn't playing that well at the start of the day but the eagle on the eighth really brought me back in the game. I felt my hitting got better from there on. I then set a target of four to five birdies on the back-nine. However, that didn't materialize since I left quite a few putts short. Nonetheless, I'm quite happy to be two ahead at this stage," said the Sri Lankan.

Aman Raj (65-68-69) kept himself in the hunt with six birdies and three bogeys on Friday. He narrowed the gap with the leader with birdies on the last two holes.

Veer Ahlawat (69-66-68) moved up one position to third after an error-free 68.

Sajib Ali (65-68-71), lying tied second after round two, slipped two spots on day three to tied fourth as a result of his 71. The Dhaka-based golfer is the highest-placed Bangladeshi going into the final round.