Atwal drops to 14th at John Deere Classic golf

Illinois (US): It was a bogeyfree round that Arjun Atwal could hardly have been happy about as he parred 17 of the 18 holes and had just one birdie in the third round of the John Deere Classic golf on Sunday.

Atwal, who was nine-under through two rounds, had a one-under 71 to go to 10-under. That saw him slip to tied 14th, but still had a chance to grab a top-10. Atwal`s sole birdie came on the 17th after 16 birdies. The putts just did not fall, even though he was on greens in regulation on two thirds of the occasion. Steve Stricker shot an eight-under 63 to take a two-shot lead after three rounds. That included a 75-foot birdie and he is now 20-under 193 for the week. Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge (63) was second at 195 and second round leader Chez Reavie shot 68 and was 17-under. PTI