Lahiri’s 3rd round 67 raises good hopes

Anirban Lahiri turned in his best card of the week as he shot an excellent three-under 67 to be tied 55th in the third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational here.

Lahiri with his 67 made a smart move from overnight tied 72nd to tied 55th after 54 holes. The 28-year-old Indian, who was nine-over after 36 holes, improved to six-over par 216. If he can play another round in <g data-gr-id="34">60s</g>, it will give him a decent finish at the Firestone Country Club in the USD 9.5 million <g data-gr-id="33">tournament</g>.

Hit by back spasms in the first round, he carded a disappointing 77 before finding his rhythm somewhat only on the second nine of the second round. Lahiri followed up his second round 72 with a 67 and showed no signs of the problems he faced on the first day.

Lahiri’s third round may well have been at least two shots better but for a couple of putts inside six feet, once for birdie on fourth and once for par on 12th. He also missed another one for birdie from just 13 feet. Lahiri, winner of the Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open this year, had six birdies against three bogeys in his round. His iron play was fine as he found 15 greens in regulation, but his putter could have done better, even though his birdies included a 28-footer and two between 10 and 15 feet. His six birdies included those on second from eight feet, from 11 feet on third and from 28 feet on ninth. The birdie on 13th was from 14 feet and on 14th, he hit a superb approach to three feet and on par-5 16th, he had a 38-footer for eagle, but settled for a tap-in birdie from around 10 inches.

His bogeys came on first when he went into the left intermediate off the tee and left himself a 20-footer for par, which he missed. He missed a four-footer for par on 12th and had another bogey on 17th.

The third round belonged to England’s Justin Rose, who sizzled with a flawless 63 to share the lead with American veteran Jim Furyk (69), heading into the final round of the tournament. They were two ahead of Shane Lowry (67) at seven-under, while four players Steven Bowditch (63), Ian Poulter (65), Henrik Stenson 68) and Bubba Watson (69) were all at five-under 205 in tied fourth place. 

Among other Asian Tour stars in the field, Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee was one shot behind Lahiri in tied-58th place after carding a 73, while David Lipsky of the USA slipped to tied-68th position on 218 following a 72. Liang Wen-<g data-gr-id="32">chong</g> of China and Australia’s Andrew Dodt shot 75 and 72, respectively and were tied for 69th position on 220.