By IANS,
Greenville (South Carolina) : Arjun Atwal continued his upward march despite a last hole bogey on the 18th as he shot three-under 69 and moved to 10-under 206 and tied ninth at the end of the third round of the BMW Charity Pro-Am underway here.
Atwal was 13th at the midway stage Saturday and is aiming for a good finish that will aid his movement into the PGA ranks next season.
Atwal, playing at the Carolina Country Club, was seven adrift of the leader David Mathis, whose third-round 69 moved him one step closer to his first career win. Mathis was 17-under 198 after 54 holes in an event that pairs Tour pros with amateurs and celebrities and they play in a better-ball format. Mathis was one shot better than Matt Weibring.
Atwal started with three pars and then struck three birdies in four holes with birdies on fourth, fifth and seventh. He added another on 16th but dropped a bogey on 18th.
Second in terms of accuracy of the tee this week, Atwal is, however, having problems with his putting, needing 28 on the third day after 33 and 30 on the first two days.
Atwal is currently 18th on the Nationwide Money List and needs to stay on in top-25 to earn the full PGA card for 2009.
The tournament is played over three courses in the Greenville area, and Mathis played the Thornblade Club, the others being South Carolina and Bright’s Creek.
The cut comes after three rounds as 60 players made it to the final round at Thornblade with the winner poised to take home a first-place amount of $121,500 from the $675,000 purse.