Mane stays ahead on penultimate day

Udayan Mane maintained his foot on the pedal amidst a brilliant charge from Syed Saqib Ahmed to remain in pole position after the penultimate round of the Tata Steel Karnataka Amateur Golf Championship here on Thursday.

Starting the day three shots ahead of Saqib, Mane ended the third round with exactly the same advantage after the duo shot matching three-under 69s at the Eagleton Golf Resort.

Opening round leader Jaibir Singh was in third spot at 215 following a level-par 72 with last leg winner Samarth Dwivedi (74) a shot further behind.

Both Mane and Saqib were locked in an intense contest for most of the day before the former pulled clear on the inward journey. Saqib announced his intentions as early as the opening hole itself with a fine birdie.

The pair then sunk birdies on the third but a birdie by Saqib on the sixth and a bogey by Mane on the seventh left the duo locked on the same score.

Mane, soaking up the pressure well, picked up a shot on the eighth but Syed responded in kind on the very next hole as the duo turned in with honours even. Just then, Mane switched gears to take a handy lead into the final round. He birdied the 10th, 13th and 14th holes, sandwiched by a bogey on the 11th, while Saqib dropped shots on the 11th and 12th holes.

Leading scores (after 54 holes): 206: Udayan Mane (69, 68, 69); 209: Syed Saqib Ahmed (74, 66, 69); 215: Jaibir Singh (71, 72, 72); 216: Samarth Dwivedi (72, 70, 74); 217: Viraj Madappa (72, 78, 67), Jasjeet Singh (69, 74, 74); 218: Trishul Chinnappa (71, 74, 73), Gagan Verma (74, 70, 74).