Atwal rises to tied 6th after Rd3 of Viking Classic

Madison: Arjun Atwal struck five birdies in his back-nine to card a three-under 69 and rise one spot to tied sixth after the third round of the Viking Classic Golf Tournament here.

The Orlando-based golfer`s overall tally stood at nine-under 207. It was not the best of starts as Atwal stumbled to a bogey on the third hole but he made amends by picking up a birdie on the seventh to make the turn even-par. After a subdued first nine, Atwal struck form in his backward journey and sank in four birdies -- on the 10th, 11th, 15th and 18th -- against just a lone bogey to round off a reasonably good day. The other Indian in fray, Jeev Milkha Singh, was down in the leaderboard at tied 56th after an even-par 72 in the third round took his overall total to one-under 215. American Bill Haas grabbed a three-stroke lead after carding a 69 to total 15-under 201. PTI