Harendra on top, Arshdeep's 65 propels him to tied second

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Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh fired a two-under 70 to make his way to the top of the leaderboard after the third round of the PGTI Players Championship here today.

Gupta's total moved to eight-under 208 after round three at the Aamby Valley City.

Arshdeep Tiwana of the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon and Vinod Kumar of Delhi are in joint second at seven-under 209.

Harendra (68-70-70), who was overnight tied second, began with a birdie on the first where he sank a 10-footer. He dropped a bogey on the fourth after finding the hazard. Gupta's well-placed second shot earned him another birdie on the fifth. He was two-on on the par-5 seventh green and picked up a stroke on that hole as well.

Harendra bogeyed the 10th but ended up with two-under for the day after knocking down a nine feet birdie putt on the 16th.

"It's been a very consistent week for me so far. I hit some accurate second shots today. However, the placement of my tee shots wasn't that good in round three. I struggled off the tee due to the wind. The putts rolled in for me. Putting is the key on this course and I will need to grab my chances on the greens in the final round in order to stay on top," said Gupta.

Arshdeep's (72-72-65) gallant seven-under 65 accounted for the day's best score and propelled him from overnight tied 22nd to tied second place. His round featured a magnificent eagle on the 14th as well as five birdies. He holed his third shot (9-iron) from a distance of 145 yards for eagle on the par-5 14th hole.

Arshdeep holed a 25-footer for birdie on the third and sank birdie putts from 15 feet on the eighth and 15th. He landed his approach shots within three feet for birdies on the ninth and 16th.

Tiwana said, "It was a perfect day of golf for me. I hit all fairways and made 16 greens in regulation. The putter was hot as I converted five putts from a range of 15 to 25 feet, including two to save par. This round has put me in contention and I will look to play it shot by shot and hole by hole on the final day without getting ahead of myself."

Vinod (70-69-70) fired a 70 today to join Tiwana in tied second place. His round featured four birdies and two bogeys.

Australia's Anthony Choat is placed fourth at six-under-210.

Delhi's Rashid Khan, the overnight leader, slipped to tied 12th position in round three after shooting a 76.