Rahil Gangjee at the RCGC on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: It was a day when the lead changed hands a couple of times, with overnight leader Harendra Gupta losing it and his nearest rival Ashok Kumar grabbing it. But in the end, the city’s very own Rahil Gangjee put his knowledge of the home turf to supreme use and emerged sole leader after the penultimate round of the PGTI Players Championship at Royal Calcutta Golf Club on Friday.

Gangjee shot a solid three-under 66 for a tournament total of five-under 169 to take a one-stroke lead over Arjun Singh and Gupta. Ashok Kumar, Anirban Lahiri and Neil Mundra were a further stroke behind in tied fourth. Local hero S.S.P. Chowrasia was in tied 10th place at one-under 173 as he shot 68 on Friday.

The par for the course continued to be 69.

“You can say I am pleasantly surprised,” Gangjee told The Telegraph when asked about his reaction.

“I definitely got the advantage of playing on my home course today (Friday). You will get to see me at the top of the leaderboard tomorrow (Saturday) if I perform like today.”

The Calcutta-based golfer made five birdies and two bogeys in Friday’s round. Gangjee, who had shot 34 and 69 in the first two rounds, began slowly on the penultimate day of the tournament with bogeys on the second and third holes. He then came back strongly with birdies on the fourth, eight, 11th, 14th and 18th.

“I’ll try to keep it simple on the final day instead of doing anything different,” said Gangjee.

Gangjee, buoyed by the presence of his father and wife, who walked along the course with him, secured the sole lead in the last hole (18th) with a birdie.

“My father generally comes during the tournament. But it was really nice to have my wife walking with me today,” said Gangjee, who has won three East India Amateur titles at the RCGC.

Arjun’s 65 was the best score of the third round. Neil Mundra, Himmat Singh Rai and Mohammed Islam also carded rounds of 65 on Friday.

Delhi-based Arjun Singh had fired 37 and 68 in the first two rounds. His third-round effort included birdies on the fourth, fifth, eighth, 15th, 16th, 18th and bogeys on the 11th and 12th. His total stood at four-under 170 after the third round.

Harendra Gupta (33, 65, 72) shot three-over 72 in round three to slip to tied second. He had a forgettable front nine as he dropped bogeys on the third and eighth and a double bogey on the sixth. His lone birdie came on the 15th.

“Today was not my day… Nothing was happening for me,” Gupta, who enjoyed the lead on the first two days, said.

Neil Mundra (34, 72, 65), Anirban Lahiri (38, 66, 67) and Ashok Kumar (34, 67, 70) were all tied fourth at three-under 171. Himmat Singh Rai, Mohammed Siddikur Rehman and Chiragh Kumar occupied tied seventh place with identical totals of two-under 172.

Rahul Ganapathy was placed tied 15th and Digvijay Singh was tied 22nd. Gaganjeet Bhullar and Mukesh Kumar were a further stroke behind in tied 27th position. Vijay Kumar at five over 179 lied tied 32nd while Akshay Butta’s total of six-over 180 placed him highest among the amateurs at tied 36th.

Earlier in the day the cut was made at four-over par 109 after the completion of the second round. Fifty-two golfers managed to make the cut including two amateurs.

The prominent names that did not make the cut included Gaurav Ghei, Ali Sher, Amandeep Johl, Feroz Ali Mollah, Basad Ali and Harmeet Kahlon.