Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 17 (ANI): Overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma fired an eight-under 64 to extend his lead to seven shots at 20-under 196 after round three of the inaugural Rs 1 crore Boulders Classic being played at the Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club in Hyderabad.

The 29-year-old Shubhankar (66-66-64), a two-time DP World Tour winner, matched the course record set by Honey Baisoya a day earlier. Sharma's round featured nine birdies and just one bogey as he took firm control heading into the final day.

Delhi's Rashid Khan (67-70-66), Chandigarh's Angad Cheema (68-69-66), and first-round leader Vishesh Sharma (65-70-68) of Hyderabad were tied second at 13-under 203, seven shots behind the leader. Rashid and Cheema returned matching six-under 66s, while Vishesh carded a four-under 68.

A six-time winner on the DP World PGTI, Shubhankar Sharma is playing his first event on the tour since the Tour Championship in Jamshedpur in December 2021. His last win on the tour came at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship in Kolkata in December 2017.

'I played really solid today -- probably hit it the best I have all week. Everything was clicking, and even when I lost a bit of momentum, I bounced back quickly with birdies,' Sharma said.

He added, 'It was nice to be hitting it close consistently. You have to get your yardages and wind reads right here, and I felt I did that well.'

Sharma also credited his mindset for the consistency over the first three rounds. 'I've just been in a happy state of mind and that's showing on the course,' he said. 'The work is always constant -- I haven't done anything special, just stuck to my process and tried to cut out the mistakes.'

Looking ahead to the final round, Shubhankar remained measured despite his commanding lead. 'Even with the lead, the plan is to stay aggressive and stick to the process. I'm just having fun, staying relaxed and doing the same things I've done over the last three days.'

Chandigarh's Ajeetesh Sandhu, a former Asian Tour winner and five-time winner on the DP World PGTI, carded his third consecutive four-under 68 to move into fifth place at 12-under 204.

PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar carded a six-under 66 to move to 11-under 205 and into a tie for sixth, alongside Honey Baisoya, who followed up his course-record 64 with a three-under 69.

Mohd Azhar (67-70-69) was the other Hyderabad-based professional in the top-10 as he occupied tied eighth place at 10-under 206.Yuvraj Sandhu (73-68-73), one of the pre-tournament favourites, was tied-32nd at two-under 214.

With a commanding seven-shot advantage, Sharma will look to maintain his momentum in the final round as he chases his seventh DP World PGTI title and first since 2017. (ANI)