Vijay smashes course record at Players Championship

Panchkula (Haryana), March 14 (IANS) Vijay Kumar became the joint leader after round three of the PGTI Players Championship at the Panchkula Golf Club as he shot a whirlwind 64 to break the course record here Saturday.

The Lucknow-based professional shares the lead with Gaganjeet Bhullar, with both having an identical total of 12 under 204 after three rounds.

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Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh is four strokes behind in third place.

Kumar (72, 68, 64) set the fairways on fire when he broke the course record of seven under 65, earlier held jointly by Bhullar and Karanjit Singh Sandhu. Interestingly, Bhullar had equaled Sandhu's course record during the first round Thursday.

Kumar's bogey-free round of eight under 64 saw him make an incredible six birdies (first, third, fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth) on the front nine. He added two more birdies (10th, 18th) to his tally on the back nine. The 40-year-old, who last won a professional event about three years back, made 16 regulations and excelled with the putter throughout the day.

'My hitting was excellent today and I missed regulation only on the second and fourth holes. I hit it really close on most occasions and did not miss too many putts either, especially on the front nine. My best effort came on the par five eighth,' said Vijay.

Bhullar (65, 73, 66) came up with seven birdies and a lone bogey to produce a crucial six under 66.

'I had a good outing today. The front nine was relatively easier today because the tail-wind worked to my advantage. The only blemish was the bogey on the 17th, where I three-putted from 25 feet,' he said.

--Indo-Asian news Service

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