January 26, 2016: The travel seems to be finally getting the better of Anirban Lahiri’s jet lagged body. He returned 71 from his foray to the Stadium Course to add to his 64-68 from the first two days, sliding 16 spots on the leaderboard. Jason Dufner struck seven birdies in nine holes to earn a two shot lead over Jamie Lovemark in the CareerBuilder Challenge.
Dufner (64-65-64) has been very consistent this week and was eight under yesterday despite making two bogeys. “I made the turn at 1 under, and told the guys we were going to have a good back nine,” Dufner said. “I told my caddie and my amateur partners, `I’m about to do something good.’ So, when you start thinking like that, good things happen. So, that’s just kind of where my mindset is right now.”
Jamie Lovemark had to work hard for his place in the Sun, making a brilliant 65 on the Stadium Course. “Any time you go out there and shoot 7 under, it’s a good day, no matter what,” Lovemark said. “I was pleased with the way I played the entire round. I’m in good position to compete for a win tomorrow.”
Adam Hadwin made 64 on the Nicklaus Course and the Canadian was lying third at 20 under. “It’s just going to be a question of handling the nerves and making sure those putts kind of keep hitting the lines tomorrow,” Hadwin said.
But as has been characteristic of the resilient man, he gathered his wits quickly. Lahiri made back to back birdies before making the turn and repair most of the damage.
Playing with a lot more caution, Lahiri added birdies at 12 & 14 to get his card just under par at 71. Lahiri is 13-under overall through 54 holes.
There were five players tied in fifth – among them were Kevin Na and Phil Mickelson. Lefty made 66 on the Stadium Course to add to the 68-65 he made on the first two days. “It’s been a good three days,” Mickelson said. “It’s been a good start.”
Kevin Na made a sensational 62 on the Nicklaus Course to gain 30 spots on the scoreboard. Na started with a 71 but 66 on Friday helped him climb, before he soared into contention with his effort in the third round. Na was 8-under for his final seven holes with an eagle and six birdies. “Every shot was at the flag,” Na said.
