Gurugram, Mar 29 (PTI) Ajeetesh Sandhu reclaimed his position as the top Indian golfer, rising 10 places to a tie for 15th after the third round of the Hero Indian Open here on Saturday. Sandhu, who was tied for 4th after the opening round, carded a two-over 74 in Round 3, which included three birdies and five bogeys, to take his total to four-over par. This lifted him from his overnight tied-25th spot. Also Read | IPL 2025: Punjab Kings Pacer Kuldeep Sen Backs Shreyas Iyer As Strong Captaincy Contender for India Cricket Team, Says 'He Is a Calm Leader Who Empowers Bowlers'. Last edition's runner-up, Veer Ahlawat (74), who had two birdies, including one on the 18th, but also two bogeys and a double bogey, stood at five-over, tied for 18th. At the top of the leaderboard, Spain's Eugenio Chacarra, 25, grinded his way to a one-over 73, taking a one-shot lead over Japan's defending champion Keita Nakajima (74) and South Africa's Brandon Stone (71). Also Read | DC vs SRH Dream11 Team Prediction, IPL 2025: Tips and Suggestions To Pick Best Winning Fantasy Playing XI for Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad. England's Matthew Jordan (73) and Sweden's Jens Dantorp (73) were a shot further behind at one-under, heading into the final round. Sandhu played even-par on the front nine, but a string of three bogeys in five holes between the 10th and 14th hurt his progress. However, he regained some composure with two birdies and one bogey over the final four holes. It was a disastrous finish for Gaganjeet Bhullar (78), who closed with three consecutive dropped shots—a bogey, a bogey, and a triple bogey—over the final three holes, falling from a Top-10 position to tied-33rd. With the final round looming, Indian hopes remain for a top-10 finish, while the action at the top promises a thrilling battle. If Chacarra wins, it will be his first DP World Tour title, while Nakajima will become only the fourth player ever to have won back-to-back titles at the Hero Indian Open. The first was another Japanese, Kenji Hosoishi in 1967 and 1968 and the next was India's Jyoti Randhawa in 2006 and 2007. The latest was SSP Chawrasia (2016 and 2017), who missed the halfway cut this year. Stone has not had a win against his name since his third DPWT title in 2018 in Scotland while the fourth placed duo of Dantorp and Jordan have not won before on the DPWT. On the third day, which is traditionally called the moving day, players seemed to be moving backwards on a challenging course. There were no bogey free rounds as only five players were under par for 54 holes and only three players played under par for the day while no one was able to break the 70. It was a great test of golf and at the end of it, the overnight co-leaders held on to take their battle into the fourth and final day with five players within two shots of the lead held by Chacarra. The Spaniard started the third day tied at the top alongside Nakajima at four under par but his two bogeys on the front nine pushed him two shots off the lead at the turn. Meanwhile, Nakajima's run of 14 successive pars on Day 3 finally came to an end with a bogey on the 15th. Chacarra made a birdie at the same hole to grab a share of the lead. When Nakajima failed to save par at the difficult 17th, Chacarra found himself in the lead. Chacarra opted to go for the 18th green in two but found a tough lie in the rough and had to settle for a closing par and a one-shot lead over closest challengers Stone and Nakajima. Stone picked a birdie on the last to card 71, the joint-lowest round of the day, while Nakajima had two bogeys and no birdies in his 74. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)