Chang Hwa (Chinese Taipei), Aug 1 (IANS) A double-bogey on the last hole forced Indian golfer Khalin Joshi to settle for a two-under 70 as he jumped three places to the tied fourth spot after the third round of the Taifong Open here on Saturday.
Bengaluru based Khalin got birdies on the second, third, 10th, 16th, 17th holes against a bogey on the sixth hole at the Taifong Golf Club.
However, he struggled to escape from the greenside bunker in two attempts which caused him to drop two shots and settle for a 70 in the penultimate round of the $160,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
“I was playing really well but double bogeyed the last hole from the centre fairway. Overall I felt that I played better. I just need to stay focus and I think I can go low in the final round. I’ll just play my own game tomorrow,” the 22-year-old said in a release.
He has a three-day total of seven-under 206 — three shots back from leader Jordan Sherratt of Australia, who recovered from a slow start to stay on track to win his first career title after shooting a one-under 71.
The 27-year-old totalled 10-under 206 and will need to hold his ground against Thailand’s Natthapong Niyomchon, who fired a 69 to trail by one shot.
Yeh Wei-tze of Chinese Taipei shot a 69 to charge into contention on a 208 total while local hopes Sung Mao-chang, Kao Teng and Lee Chieh-po were a further shot back in tied fourth place.
Sherratt, who turned professional in 2010, got off to a slow start with bogeys on the first and third but steadied ship with a pair of birdies after the turn.
Another two more birdies against one bogey earned him a slender one-shot lead heading into the final round.