Ajeetesh Sandhu emerges as top contender after round three

Enjoys six-stroke lead

Gurgaon, November 3, 2012: ChandigarhⳠAjeetesh Sandhu emerged as the
top contender for the title at the DLF Masters 2012 after he shot a 70
to take a six-stroke lead on the penultimate day of the tournament
being played at the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon. AjeeteshⳠtotal
stands at 10-under-206 after round three. Delhi golfer Rashid Khan and
NoidaⳠGaurav Pratap Singh are joint second at four-under-212.

Ajeetesh Sandhu (70-66-70), the overnight leader, did not have an
ideal start in round three. He dropped a couple of strokes on the
fifth and seventh as a result of two missed chip-putts. The
24-year-old then picked up the pace with birdies on the eighth and
ninth where he sank putts from 10 feet and six feet respectively.

Sandhu moved to one-under for the day after sinking a 15-footer on the
14th. A two-putt from the edge of the green earned him his final
birdie of the day on the 18th.

㉠really enjoyed my round today. I took my opportunities on the
greens today as my putting was better as compared to round two. I made
some crucial par saves from six feet on the 12th and 13th before
converting a long birdie putt on the 14th. However, my ball-striking
was not great today. I head into the final day as the leader for the
first time. I⬬ just concentrate on playing well in the final round
and not get too ahead of myself,䠳aid Ajeetesh, who is now staring at
his maiden professional title.

Rashid Khan (73-71-68) and Gaurav Pratap Singh (71-68-73) are in tied
second place at four-under-212, six strokes off the lead.

Rashid made five birdies against a lone bogey in his round of 68. The
highlight of his round was the chip-in from 40 yards for birdie on the
fifth. Gaurav PratapⳠround of 73 featured three birdies, two bogeys
and a double bogey.

Jyoti Randhawa and Ashok Kumar are in tied fourth place with matching
totals of three-under-213 while defending champion Himmat Singh Rai is
a further stroke back in sixth place.

In the team championship, the team of Ajeetesh Sandhu, Gaurav Pratap
Singh and amateur Mr. Kulvinder Singh won the competition with a net
score of 132.