Ashok Kumar played an incredible round of nine-under 63 to equal the course record for an individual round, set three years ago at the par-72 Classic Golf Resort by Thongchai Jaidee, and assume sole lead at the HT Pro Golf 2004 at the end of the third day's play.
The fifth leg of the Amby Valley PGAI Tour is all set for a thrilling finale, with Arjuna Awardee Shiv Kapur and Delhi pro Shamim Khan joining Ashok in the leader group.
The duo of Shiv Kapur and Shamim Khan lie in tied-second position with a three-day total of 202, four strokes behind the leader.
While Shiv Kapur returned a card of six-under for the day, Shamim kept pace to card a creditable five-under today.
Bangalore professional C Muniyappa played a superb round of five-under today to lie in fourth position with a three-day tally of 203.
Ashok's birdie streak started on the second hole and continued on the third, fourth and sixth holes on the front nine, which left him at four-under at the turn. Not satisfied with that, he started his back nine with three consecutive birdies and then recorded two more on the 14th and 15th. He came within one-and-a-half feet of shattering the course record, but failed when he missed a putt of that length on the ninth.
On the 18th he chipped to 12 feet ahead of the pin, thereby letting pass yet another opportunity to mark his name against a new course record.
Ashok also missed out on surpassing his best performance of 10-under for a round, which came at the Hindu Open this year.
At 18-under after three days, Ashok is just three strokes away from his best four day total of 21-under and will undoubtedly look to better that.
"I was trying too hard on the par-fives yesterday and missed a few chances; today I just played my natural game all along. I am hitting well and am looking forward to the game tomorrow," said the elated Delhi Golf Club pro.
Although Ashok enjoys a four-stroke lead over the duo of Shiv Kapur and Shamim Khan, he will face a stiff challenge for the title by both.
Shiv Kapur, who has already claimed one title - the Amby Valley-MGC Open - will be looking to grab another one on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour. Today he recorded six birdies even though his hitting was not up to the mark.
Meanwhile, Shamim also played a bogey-free round and returned a card with five birdies to be placed tied-second with Shiv.
The Delhi pro will be looking to win his first professional title; his best performance came five years ago at the Aravalli Open where he finished second.
The final day's play promises to be a thriller with the exciting rivalry between young Turks Ashok and Shiv, which started during their amateur days, now emerging strong on the professional circuit.
Amateurs: Among the amateurs Chirag Kumar led the field carding a one-under 71 today for a three day tally of 214.
(Scores after 54 holes) 198 Ashok Kumar (66,69,63); 202 Shamim Khan (65,70,67), Shiv Kapur (68,68,66); 203 C Muniyappa (71,67,65); 206 Mukesh Kumar (70,69,67); 207 Amritinder Singh (71,69,67), Vinod Kumar (66,73,68), DS Raghuvanshi(71,65, 71); 209 Feroz Ali (69,71,69), Gaurav Ghei(70,67,72), Md Islam(68,69,72)
Amateurs: 214 Chirag Kumar(75,68, 71) ; 219 Anitya Chand (76,68,75), Shaurya Singh (68,77,74).
