Atwal cards 4-under to lie tied 3rd

Indian golfer Arjun Atwal moved within one round of making the final stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School after he turned in a creditable four-under 68 in the third round of the second stage to be tied third here.

Atwal, who carded a 67 and 70 in the first two rounds is, now 11-under and lying tied third with one more round to go. Anirban Lahiri at tied 25th and Daniel Chopra at tied 30th are also playing in the same qualifiers.

An American of Indian origin, 22-year-old Bhavik Patel, a 2011 winner of California State Amateur title, was also in running to make the final stage.

Patel shot rounds of 69, 67 and 68 and was lying second behind Korea’s Si Kim (70-61-67) at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, California, one of the six venues hosting the qualifiers, each of which will send about 18 to 20 qualifiers to the final stage.

But for the two late bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes, Atwal would have shared the lead with 11-time European Tour winner Robert Karlsson (68-67-68) at 13-under.

Randhawa tied 13th

Jyoti Randhawa, the lone Indian to make the cut, rode on the wings of an eagle to make a smart move on the third day of the $ 2 million UBS Hong Kong Open.

Randhawa (67) moved to five-under 205 and tied 13th, up from overnight 20th place. New Zealand’s Mic-hael Campbell carried on his remarkable run with a one-under 69 that kept him in joint lead with Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez, showed he is still a strong contender with a two-under-par 68.