PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL – MARCH 13: Anirban Lahiri of India smiles on the ninth green during the third round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 13, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. (Photo by James Gilbert/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
At the time of sending out this newsletter, Anirban Lahiri holds a one-shot lead after 11 holes in Rd 3 at the weather-hit PLAYERS Championship in Florida.
The 34-year-old Lahiri is chasing his maiden victory in what is the PGA TOUR’s flagship event. He will resume his third round on Monday at 8 am local time ( 5.30 pm India time), with the final round planned to be played the same day. 10 players are currently within three shots of the lead.
Should Lahiri win, he will become only the second Indian golfer after Arjun Atwal to win on the PGA TOUR (2010 Wyndham Championship) and only the third Asian golfer to win THE PLAYERS after Korea’s K.J. Choi (2011) and Si Woo Kim (2017).
“Yeah, who doesn’t want to win THE PLAYERS Championship?” Lahiri told the media after he had racked up six birdies against a lone bogey in 11 holes of his third round. “You just don’t know. You grind away, you keep chipping away, you keep working on your game, and when it clicks, it clicks. It could be this week, it could be next week. As long as it happens, and that’s the belief you’ve got to have, and that’s the commitment you’ve got to have. I’m just happy that I’m playing well. I’m just happy that I’m hitting my irons well. When you are in that state of mind, you usually play well, and that’s what’s happening.”
Asked what a victory at the TOUR’s richest and biggest tournament would mean to him and India, Lahiri said: “Obviously it will definitely be a career highlight. That goes without saying. This is the next thing to winning a major I would say. “It would be huge. I think with Every Shot Live, it makes a big difference because people get to watch me play. Even the times that I play well, a lot of people are like, man, I didn’t get to see that many shots, and this week they can tune in and see as many shots as they like and every shot if they’d like.”
Lahiri’s last win on any tour came at the 2015 Hero Indian Open, where he defeated compatriot S.S.P Chawrasia in a playoff to win his second European Tour title. Millions of fans in India will be rooting for him to end his winless streak and claim one of the biggest trophies in world golf.
Current Leaderboard –
Anirban Lahiri (-9) 67-73 5-under thru 11
Tom Hoge (-8) 66-71 1-under thru 9
Harold Varner III (-8) 69-69 2-under thru 9
Sebastián Muñoz (-7) 70-73 6-under thru *14
Paul Casey (-7) 70-69 2-under thru 9
Sam Burns (-7) 68-69 E thru 9
Credits:-
Photo – Getty Images