Rabat, June 14 (IANS) Gaganjeet Bhullar recorded his only bogey of the day on the final hole, the ninth, but still moved up significantly in the third round of the USD 2 million International Series Morocco.

The four-time IGPL winner and 11-time Asian Tour champion added a 4-under 69 to his first two rounds of 70-74, improving from T-47 to T-27.

Karandeep Kochar, also starting from the tenth tee, had a challenging second nine, shooting 2-under 71 for the round, and with a three-round total of 4-under, he was T-43. Ajeetesh Sandhu, with a score of 74, experienced an inconsistent round and slipped to T-47 from his previous T-25 position.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson maintained his lead despite two late bogeys, carding 4-under 69. His total now stands at 15-under, just one shot ahead of Thailand’s 2022 champion Jazz Janewattananond (67) and Hong Kong’s in-form Taichi Kho (68).

While Watson, aiming for his first win since the 2018 Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour, stumbled late, Jazz finished with a birdie-eagle, and Kho closed with three pars.

Watson, 47, the captain of LIV Golf’s RangeGoats GC, was playing well at 5-under through 12 holes but then faced back-to-back bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes on the par-73 Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam. He recovered some ground with a birdie on the drivable 17th hole.

Bhullar, who started on the back nine, birdied the 10th and 15th, then added further gains on the third, fifth, and eighth holes after the turn to reach 5-under. A bogey on the ninth slightly dropped his position.

Kochhar made five birdies, including three in a row from the seventh to the ninth on his first nine. On the second nine, he recorded three bogeys but also birdied the seventh and eighth.

Ajeetesh Sandhu’s round featured six birdies, six pars, and six holes with a bogey or worse, including one double bogey.

Japan’s Takanori Konishi shot a bogey-free 66, aiming for his first win outside Japan, tying for fourth place at 12-under with Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert (72).

Frenchman Julien Sale (68) and Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai (70) tied for sixth at 11-under.

Morocco’s Mehdi El Fakori, the only Moroccan player to make the cut, scored his second consecutive 70, three-under par, and moved up to tied 33rd at five-under.

–IANS

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