India’s Anirban Lahiri birdied three of his final 4 holes to grab a one-stroke lead earlier than darkness halted Sunday’s third spherical of the storm-hit Gamers Championship. Lahiri made six birdies towards a lone bogey to achieve 5-under by way of 11 holes at TPC Sawgrass and stand on 9-under general, one stroke forward of Individuals Tom Hoge and Harold Varner getting into a Monday shootout at Ponte Vedra Seaside, Florida. “I am simply being within the second proper now. I am actually blissful. I am assured,” Lahiri mentioned. “You grind away, maintain chipping away, maintain working in your recreation, and when it clicks, it clicks.”
Two days of torrential rain adopted by fierce winds on Saturday delayed play so some golfers should go 27 holes on Monday to complete the event.
Lahiri, 34, seeks his greatest profession title after European Tour victories in 2015 on the Malaysian and Indian Opens.
“It positively can be a profession spotlight,” Lahiri mentioned. “That is the subsequent factor to successful a significant.”
World quantity 322 Lahiri seeks his first US PGA title and the primary by any India participant since Arjun Atwal’s 2010 triumph at Greensboro. He mentioned it might imply rather a lot to his homeland as a result of folks might watch it there.
“It could be big,” Lahiri mentioned. “With each shot reside, it makes an enormous distinction as a result of folks get to observe me play. It isn’t each week you play effectively, however you play effectively in every week the place folks can truly see you play, it makes a much bigger distinction.”
Varner seeks his first US PGA title whereas Hoge captured his first solely final month at Pebble Seaside. Every has 9 holes remaining in spherical three.
Lahiri’s chilly begin
Lahiri’s day started within the second spherical in chilly barely above freezing and he made three bogeys earlier than an eagle on the par-5 eleventh within the second spherical.
“I am not used to enjoying in temps like that. I could not really feel something in my fingers, my toes,” Lahiri mentioned. “Felt like I made good swings however they got here out sideways and I missed a number of putts.
“It sort of warmed up a bit bit and I acquired a maintain of what I needed to do on the greens. Simply making the three on 11 sort of gave me the momentum I wanted to show my day round.”
Within the third spherical, Lahiri made an 11-foot birdie putt on the first gap and tapped in for birdie on the par-5 second. He sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the sixth, rolled in a four-footer on the par-3 eighth and sank a birdie putt from simply inside 25 ft on the par-5 ninth.
Lahiri discovered the left timber off the tenth tee and made a bogey to begin the again 9, however bounced again with a tap-in birdie at 11, making him the person to beat with 9 rivals lurking three or much less again.
“I really feel like I am swinging effectively,” Lahiri mentioned. “I’ve acquired to drag the suitable golf equipment, make the suitable photographs and simply hit it.
There’s going to be lot of fiddly photographs, plenty of uncomfortable photographs and I’ve simply acquired to commit.
“The few dangerous photographs I hit in the present day was both a foul membership that I pulled or a shot I wasn’t dedicated.”
England’s Paul Casey, sharing fourth on 7-under by way of 9 holes with American Sam Burns and Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz, can be the second-oldest Gamers champion at 44. He has gone 42 holes with out a bogey.
“We began in the dead of night and acquired dwelling in the dead of night. However in between I performed some fairly great things,” Casey mentioned. “I’ve acquired momentum.”
Eire’s Shane Lowry aced the famed par-3 seventeenth island gap with a wedge from 124 yards in spherical three. It was the tenth ace on the gap, the primary since Ryan Moore within the first spherical in 2019 and was the Irishman’s second PGA Tour ace after one on the 2016 Masters.
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