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 in opposition to a lone bogey to succeed in 5-under by 11 holes at TPC Sawgrass and stand on 9-under total, one stroke forward of Individuals Tom Hoge and Harold Varner coming into a Monday shootout at Ponte Vedra Seashore, 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 match.
Lahiri, 34, seeks his greatest profession title after European Tour victories in 2015 on the Malaysian and Indian Opens.
“It positively could be a profession spotlight,” Lahiri mentioned. “That is the following factor to profitable a serious.”
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 will imply so much to his homeland as a result of individuals may watch it there.
“It might be enormous,” Lahiri mentioned. “With each shot dwell, it makes a giant distinction as a result of individuals get to look at me play. It isn’t each week you play nicely, however you play nicely in per week the place individuals can really see you play, it makes an even bigger distinction.”
Varner seeks his first US PGA title whereas Hoge captured his first solely final month at Pebble Seashore. 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 taking part in 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 couple of putts.
“It type of warmed up just a little bit and I bought a maintain of what I wished to do on the greens. Simply making the three on 11 type 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 start out 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 nicely,” Lahiri mentioned. “I’ve bought to tug the fitting golf equipment, make the fitting pictures and simply hit it.
There’s going to be lot of fiddly pictures, lots of uncomfortable pictures and I’ve simply bought to commit.
“The few unhealthy pictures I hit as we speak 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 9 holes with American Sam Burns and Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz, could be the second-oldest Gamers champion at 44. He has gone 42 holes with no bogey.
Promoted
“We began at the hours of darkness and bought house at the hours of darkness. However in between I performed some fairly good things,” Casey mentioned. “I’ve bought 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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