Bengaluru, September 24: Khalin Joshi held on to his lead at the Bengaluru Open 2026 powered by IndianOil on Thursday, but it is now three shots rather than six going into the final round.
The local golfer shot a three-under 69 in the third round at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) to reach 18-under 198 (61-68-69). Manu Gandas of Gurugram fired the day’s lowest round, a bogey-free eight-under 64, to move into second on 15-under 201.
Eagle keeps Joshi in front
Joshi’s card had an eagle on the par-five fifth, three birdies and two bogeys. He described it as a difficult day.
“It was a challenging round. I didn’t strike the ball particularly well, but I held the round together and avoided playing myself out of the tournament,” he said.
On the eagle, he said: “I played it as a 102-yard shot into the wind because I knew there was a backstop beyond the hole. The ball landed past the pin, spun back and went in.”
Joshi, who led by six after 36 holes, explained the dropped shots: “The three-putt came from a poor first putt and a slight lapse in concentration. On the 15th, I didn’t hit a good tee shot and was unlucky with the lie.”
Gandas makes his move
Gandas, the 2023 DP World PGTI Rankings champion, made eight birdies, including three in a row from the 10th to the 12th. He is 20th in the Race to DP World India Championship.
“For the past three days, I’ve been giving myself plenty of birdie chances. The difference today was that I converted more of them,” Gandas said.
Saptak Talwar, who leads the Race to DP World India Championship, is third on 11-under 205 after a 68. Veer Ahlawat (69) and Manoj S (71) share fourth on 10-under 206.
S Chikkarangappa had a hole-in-one on the 13th during his 73 and is tied 33rd on one-over 217.
The INR 1 crore event ends on Friday. It is the last tournament to decide the top 60 who keep DP World PGTI playing rights for 2026-27.
