Greater Noida, 9 October 2026: Shubhankar Sharma held on to a two-shot lead after the third round of the Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship despite a difficult finish at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort on Friday.
The 30-year-old from Chandigarh, who started the day four shots clear, returned an even-par 72 with five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. He stays at 11-under 205 (68-65-72) going into Saturday’s final round of the INR 2 crore event.
Manoj and Ortolani close the gap
Bengaluru’s Manoj S (70-71-66) and Italy’s Michele Ortolani (72-70-65) are joint second at nine-under 207.
Manoj climbed from sixth to tied second with a bogey-free 66 that contained six birdies. The 18-year-old began the week 26th in the Race to DP World India Championship, two places outside the top 24 who qualify for next week’s DP World India Championship.
Ortolani moved up from seventh with a blemish-free seven-under 65, the joint-lowest round of the day. The Italian won his first international title at the Philippine ADT Open in June.
Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu (71-69-69), last year’s DP World PGTI Order of Merit champion, shot a three-under 69 and is fourth at seven-under 209.
Brashwarpal Singh (72-65-73) of Chandigarh and Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (72-67-71) share fifth place at six-under 210. Joshi, a four-time winner on the DP World PGTI this season, started the week second in the Race to DP World India Championship.
A tale of two nines
Shubhankar was in control for most of the day. He made four birdies on the front nine and another on the 10th to stretch his advantage. The closing holes were a different story, with three bogeys and a double bogey cutting his overnight lead from four strokes to two.
“It was an up-and-down day,” he said. “I started strongly and made four birdies on the front nine, including gains on the second, fourth and seventh, before adding another on the 10th.
“The back nine was disappointing because I missed a few opportunities coming in and dropped some shots. However, I’m still playing good golf and have plenty to look forward to tomorrow. Hopefully, I can carry the momentum from today’s front nine through all 18 holes in the final round.”
Shubhankar, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, is chasing his second DP World PGTI title of the season after his victory at the Boulders Classic in April.
Talwar moves up
Saptak Talwar, who leads the Race to DP World India Championship, shot 72 for the second day running and climbed from tied 31st to tied 25th at three-over 219 (75-72-72).
The pro-am on Friday was won by professional Tapendra Ghai and amateur Prem Duggal with 48 Stableford points.
What is at stake on Saturday
The Kapil Dev Invitational is the last event of the Race to DP World India Championship. Players inside the top 24 of the standings after Saturday earn a place in the US$4 million DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club from 15 to 18 October. The event also counts towards the 2026 DP World PGTI Order of Merit, which will be decided at the end of the Delhi championship.
