Nava Raipur, September 17: Khalin Joshi carded a one-under 33 in the third round of the inaugural SECL presents Nava Raipur Open 2026 to stay on top of the leaderboard, though the Bengaluru golfer admitted his game was some way off its best.
Joshi, 34, has gone round in 29-30-33 at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort and sits at 10-under 92 with the final round still to come. His overnight lead has been cut to a single shot after Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema shot a bogey-free four-under 30 to move to nine-under 93.
“I didn’t have my best game today,” Joshi said, pointing to problems driving the ball and with his approach shots.
Rain has disrupted the tournament all week, and organisers have reduced every round to nine holes instead of the usual 18. All four rounds of the INR 1 crore event, the first edition of the Nava Raipur Open, are being played over nine holes as a result.
Big group chasing the leaders
Seven players are tied for third place at eight-under 94, including 18-year-old Pritish Singh Karayat of Delhi, who climbed from tied 36th with a five-under 29, the best score of the day. He is joined in that group by Anshul Patel, Badal Hossain, Karan Pratap Singh, Veer Ahlawat, Umed Kumar and Raunil Kukar.
Familiar rivals set for final-round battle
Joshi and Cheema know each other well, having played as teammates in the past, and the leader is expecting a competitive but friendly finish at Fairway Golf & Lake Resort.
“Angad and I know each other well and have been teammates, so there will be good camaraderie between us,” Joshi said.
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