18 July 2021: The putter warmed up nicely for Anirban Lahiri. The 34-year-old continued his battle for status on the PGA TOUR with an impressive week at the Barbasol Championship. He made 68 in the third round, moving to 13-under through 54 holes. At the front are J.T. Poston and Luke List, who set themselves up for an intriguing final round duel for honours. It is far from settled though as eleven golfers are within four strokes of each other going into Sunday. Poston went into the rough on the 17th, but he did well to get up and down from 130 yards out to save par and retain his advantage at 19-under through 54 holes.
Anirban did not miss a single putt from inside ten feet on Saturday. He also made 14 of 18 greens in regulation, giving himself a good look on most of them. In the end, he came home to four birdies in six holes from the 12th hole. The Indian is projected to return inside the top 125 on the FedexCup rankings.
James Hahn worked his way to 17-under with a rousing 60 in the third day, making the big move climbing 46 spots. He is in T3 with Joseph Bramlett. David Lingmerth and Seamus Power are in T5 at 16-under 200.
A brilliant iron helped Anirban dial an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole, setting the tone for a positive round of golf. Even though his momentum was upended a little by a bogey at he bend, Anirban kept plugging away through the afternoon, looking for opportunities.
The Indian found the left rough at the 205-yard par-3 ninth, and the second shot left him stuck in the rough, when he could only fly seven yards. But he did well to chip in from there and take a bogey.
Another smooth iron, a 153 yard approach on the par-4 12th hole secured Anirban his first birdie of the round. On the 516-yard par-5 15th, the Indian nearly found the flag in three, before tapping in for birdie.
He would take another bogey on the 191-yard par-3 16th, but made a brilliant 17-footer on the next hole to erase the damage.
Ryan Armour, Bo Hoag, David Hearn and Derek Ernst are all at 15-under, packing the top end of the leaderboard.
But it is Poston at the front, with a solid 66. The Wyndham Champion was spotless on Saturday, taking three birdies on either side to secure a one-stroke advantage over List.
List made 65, also spotless, with five birdies on the return stretch. The highlight of the day was Hahn. He made eight birdies and two eagles, split evenly on either side for a memorable 60.
