Ahmedabad, Feb 20 : Chandigarh's Yuvraj Sandhu has set himself up nicely for back-to-back wins on the PGTI Tour as he held a one-shot lead at 10-under 134 after round three of the INR 1 crore Gujarat Open 2025 being played at the Glade One Golf Resort & Club here on Thursday.

Sandhu (32-34-68), winner of the season-opener in Kolkata last week, returned a steady four-under 68 on Thursday despite a cold putter. The 27-year-old Sandhu thus held on to his overnight lead even though his cushion at the top was reduced from two to just one shot.

Delhi golfers Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Arjun Prasad shot the day's lowest scores of seven-under 65 to close in on the leader as the duo shared second place at nine-under 135. Kshitij and Arjun zoomed up eight spots from their overnight tied 10th position.

Defending champion Abhinav Lohan carded a 68 to gain four spots and end the day in tied sixth place at six-under 138. Ahmedabad's Varun Parikh (75) was placed tied 39th at one-over 145.

The first two rounds of the event were played on nine holes each. The third and fourth rounds comprise 18 holes each. The tournament will be played over a total of 54 holes. The par for the course in the third and fourth rounds is 72. The 9-hole course was played twice in round three with different pin positions.

Sandhu's round was highlighted by his solid ball striking as he missed just one green. He made five birdies till the 11th before dropping his only bogey of the day on the 13th. Sandhu scored birdies on three out of the four par-5s and produced an excellent tee shot for a tap-in birdie on the par-3 fourth hole.

At the end of the day's play, Sandhu said, 'I enjoyed a hot start today but the cold putter led to a quiet back-nine. Leading despite not being at my best with the putter for two consecutive days is quite satisfying. I'm looking forward to the prospect of playing alongside my good friend and roommate Arjun Prasad. I've never played in a leader group with him, so it would be fun.'

Kshitij Naveed Kaul made a chip-in for eagle on the 14th along with some good up and downs for birdies during his round of 65 to move into contention. Arjun Prasad, on the other hand, produced some terrific recoveries from the bunker to also move within one shot of the leader courtesy of his 65.

/IANS