Abhinav Lohan and Rahul Bajaj, with rounds of one over and three over respectively, were also tied for third place with a total of 222 and have given themselves an outside chance of a shot at the title.

The Bangalore lad, fresh from his win at the Western India Amateur, started the day tied with three others for the lead. But by the time he two-putted on the final green for a par, he established a considerable lead over the chasing pack.

“I started off poorly and two consecutive bogeys and a double bogey right after that on the 7th meant that I was three over for the round and was losing ground quickly,” he said. He pulled back with a birdie on the par-5 8th and didn’t lose further ground after that.

On the back nine, a birdie on the par-4 15th was the only interruption in a run of pars, which lasted all the way till the 18th. Abhishek said: “Despite the wind, which was affecting a lot of players, I was hitting the ball really well. I made a conscious decision not to attack the par-5s, and it paid off.”

Although Abhishek enjoys a three-stroke lead, he can’t afford to rest on his laurels because playing with him in the final group is Rashid Khan, who is making a bid for his fourth consecutive win on the Amateur Tour. Rashid hit all the greens in regulation on the first 12 holes, but failed to make any birdie.