Bhattacharya’s 65 launches him into second as Ishizaka leads Asian Tour Q‑School Final Stage

Shaurya Bhattacharya surged into Asian Tour Qualifying School contention with a superb six-under 65 in the third round of Final Stage at Lake View Resort & Golf Club, moving from tied 15th to tied second at 11-under. The 22-year-old backed up earlier rounds of 70 and 67 and now sits just one shot behind surprise leader Tomohiro Ishizaka of Japan.

Bhattacharya’s back nine lit up with a chip-in eagle on the 15th followed immediately by a chip-in birdie on the 16th, capping a day in which he drove it straight, hit his approaches pin-high and converted a stack of chances. He said the lighter wind compared to the first two rounds helped him attack more, and felt he “hit the ball really well and made putts,” noting that he “probably hit almost every fairway” to keep creating birdie looks.

Ishizaka, who had to advance through a pre-qualifying stage just to reach Final Stage, posted a sparkling seven-under 64 on the C&D course to reach 12-under and take sole control of the leaderboard. He leads by one over Bhattacharya and Mexico’s Roberto Lebrija, who shot 67, with Korean amateur Minchan Kim a further stroke back after a 68 as all four front-runners played the same layout in round three.

Overnight leader Shubham Jaglan slipped to tied 10th at seven-under after a 73 that included a costly double bogey on the 18th, but remains only five behind with two rounds to play and still in strong position for a card. Bhattacharya, already a two-time winner on the Professional Golf Tour of India this season and a debutant on the Asian Tour at the co-sanctioned Bharath Classic, will now look to convert his momentum into one of the 35 full cards on offer for 2026.

Further down the board, Honey Baisoya’s 68 took him to five-under and tied 20th, while teenager Kartik Singh (70) and Khalin Joshi (68) are tied 36th at three-under. S Chikkarangappa’s 67 lifted him to two-under and tied 46th alongside Ajeetesh Sandhu (69). Rashid Khan sits right on the projected number in tied 70th after a 73, needing to hang on to reach the final round, while Viraj Madappa, Sachin Baisoya, Yuvraj Singh and Pukhraj Singh Gill all require big finishes to climb into the top 70 and keep their qualifying hopes alive.

Photo – Asian Tour