Anirban Lahiri leads The Gamers Championship.
AP
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Anirban Lahiri had lots of downtime Friday and Saturday because the climate suspended The Gamers Championship.
Lahiri, 34 and a local of India, spent it watching a cricket take a look at match as he waited out the climate delays.
On Monday, Lahiri has an opportunity to win his first profession PGA Tour event in its flagship occasion at TPC Sawgrass.
Lahiri, who's 322nd on the earth rankings, is 9-under par by way of 11 holes of his third spherical getting into Monday’s completion of play.
Proper behind him are Tom Hoge and Harold Varner, each of whom are 8-under and thru 9 holes of their respective third rounds.
Sebastian Munoz, who was 6-under by way of 14 holes of his third spherical, is at 7-under, as are Paul Casey and Sam Burns, each of whom are 9 holes into their third rounds.
The third spherical will resume Monday morning and end someday within the late morning at which period the ultimate spherical will start. The event is scheduled to complete within the early night Monday.
The climate on Monday is forecast to be higher than it has all event, which is nice information to Lahiri, who mentioned he went to mattress on Saturday evening “a bit scared’’ of the upcoming chilly climate for Sunday with temperatures within the 30s when the gamers started play within the morning.
“I’m not used to taking part in temperatures sub-40, and I did battle just a little bit after I got here out,’’ he mentioned. “I believe the coldest I’ve ever been in my life was most likely the 2013 Ballantine’s Championship in Jeju, Korea. I used to be borderline hypothermic the entire day. I used to be so completely happy I missed the reduce.’’
Lahiri mentioned he started the day Sunday sporting 4 layers “and I used to be carrying a fifth in case I wanted it.’’
Golf is a humorous sport. Lahiri shot 76-82 and missed the reduce ultimately week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Now he’s main The Gamers, having shot 5-under by way of 11 holes of his third spherical.
“I’m simply completely happy that I’m taking part in properly,’’ he mentioned. “I’m simply completely happy that I’m hitting my irons properly. I’m simply completely happy. When you're in that frame of mind, you normally play properly, and that’s what’s occurring.’’
He understands the gravity of what might happen ought to he have a special occasion Monday and never solely win for the primary time however win one of many greatest occasions within the sport.
“It’s the character of what we do,’’ he mentioned. “It’s unpredictable. You simply don’t know. You grind away, you retain chipping away, you retain working in your sport, and when it clicks, it clicks. It could possibly be this week, it could possibly be subsequent week. So long as it occurs, and that’s the assumption you’ve acquired to have, and that’s the dedication you’ve acquired to have.
“Clearly [a win] undoubtedly could be a profession spotlight,’’ Lahiri went on. “That goes with out saying. That is the subsequent factor to successful a serious I'd say. Who doesn’t need to win The Gamers Championship?’’
Lahiri performed in what he referred to as “all-international pairing’’ with Joaquin Niemann (from Chile) and Cam Smith (Australia) “who've gained loads and performed very properly, and I’d love to hitch that membership.’’
The spotlight of the afternoon was Irishman Shane Lowry acing the par-3 island-green seventeenth with a pitching wedge from 123 yards.
Lowry, taking part in alongside Ian Poulter, instantly mimicked Poulter’s patented Ryder Cup celebration, then chest-bumped Poulter and high-fived followers alongside the ropes on all the stroll to the inexperienced.
When he retrieved the ball from the cup, Lowry, the 2019 British Open champion, hurled the ball into the group with spectators standing alongside the hill tripping over one another attempting to catch it. The person who emerged with the ball, acquired Lowry’s consideration on the ropes and acquired him to signal it earlier than he walked to the 18th tee.
The ace acquired Lowry from 2-under to 4-under for the event. It was the primary hole-in-one on the TPC Sawgrass seventeenth since Ryan Moore did it in his opening spherical in 2019. It was the 1,075th shot since that Moore ace.
For Lowry, it was his second hole-in-one on the PGA Tour. The opposite one occurred on the sixteenth at Augusta Nationwide within the 2016 Masters.
“You play this sport, simply particular issues occur generally,’’ Lowry mentioned. “It’s fairly cool to do it there, one of the iconic holes in golf. What can I say? It was a particular factor to occur, and I’m wanting ahead to turning on my cellphone and seeing the messages I’ve acquired. Not solely that, it put me again within the event considerably, so it was superb.’’
Lowry, who’s 4-under and 5 pictures out of the lead, performed 17 twice on Sunday, finishing his second spherical, and birdied it the primary time.
“I performed the seventeenth gap twice and did it in three pictures, so it doesn’t owe me something,’’ he joked. “I’m excited for [Monday] now. If it’s an extended day, I can do one thing hopefully within the morning and end it off within the afternoon. Hopefully [Monday] evening [I’m] celebrating one thing else.’’
A win, in fact.
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