Panchkula’s Shubhankar jumps to lead in Hyderabad golf meet

Panchkula’s Shubhankar Sharma fired an 8-under 64 to extend his lead to seven shots at 20-under 196 after round three of the Boulders Classic, at the Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club in Hyderabad. Shubhankar (66-66-64), a two-time DP World Tour winner, matched the course record set by Honey Baisoya a day earlier. His round featured nine birdies and just one bogey as he took firm control heading into the final day.

Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema (68-69-66), and first-round leader Vishesh Sharma (65-70-68) of Hyderabad were tied second at 13-under 203 with Delhi’s Rashid Khan (67-70-66). Rashid and Cheema returned matching six-under 66s, while Vishesh carded a four-under 68.

A six-time winner on the DP World PGTI, Shubhankar is playing his first event on the tour since the Tour Championship in Jamshedpur in December 2021. His last win on the tour came at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship in Kolkata in December 2017.

“I played really solid today. Everything was clicking, and even when I lost a bit of momentum, I bounced back quickly with birdies,” said Shubhankar.