Anant of Panchkula takes lead in golf tourney

Panchkula amateur golfer Anant Singh Ahlawat carded a solid 4-under 67 to storm into a two-shot lead at a total of 15-under 198 after round three of the final qualifying stage at the Tata Steel PGTI Qualifying School 2025 at the Golmuri Golf Course in Jamshedpur.

Round one leader Divyansh Dubey (68) of Pune and round two leader Ankur Chadha (70) of Gurugram were placed tied second at totals of 13-under 200. The 28-year-old Ahlawat (67-64-67), who was overnight second and one shot off the lead, began the day with a couple of great bunker shots that set up birdies for him on the second and fourth holes and negated his bogey on the third hole.

Ahlawat, a winner of five amateur titles, including two at Golmuri, then added four more birdies to his card at the cost of another bogey. Ahlawat, who was ranked India No. 2 on the amateur circuit last year and represented India at the Nomura Cup in 2024, drove the par-4 12th green on Thursday and also made a 15-feet conversion on the 16th. He scored birdies on all four par-5s.

“I’ve been striking it well through the week and have an average of 15 to 16 greens in regulation so far in this event. The putting has also been sharp as I made 32 putts today and 29 in round two. Importantly, I’ve dropped just four bogeys so far this week,” said Ahlawat, a former All-India Amateur Champion and National Games gold medallist. Dubey came up with an eagle, three birdies and a double-bogey during his round of 68 while Chadha’s round of 70 featured three birdies and two bogeys. At the end of round four, the top 32 players ( ties) will earn their full cards for the 2025 PGTI season.