14 March 2022: It is not always easy to stay in the moment when more than two decades of toil teases itself to fruition on one of the biggest stages in the sport. But Anirban Lahiri, at peace with himself and his game, has found the gravity needed to impose himself under trying circumstances at TPC Sawgrass. The Indian showed no nerves as he completed the seven holes left on his card after Sunday, with a steady hand for another 67. It was enough to hand Anirban a slender edge over Sebastian Munoz (65), Doug Ghim (68), Paul Casey (69) and Sam Burns (71). Tom Hoge and Cameron Smith are tied for 6th at 7 under.
After a forceful front nine containing five birdies, Anirban did well to knock in birdies on the back nine just when he needed them to bring home the five stroke advantage he earned on the forward stretch. The 322nd ranked Indian made bogeys at 10 and 15, but made amends both times with a birdie on the next to ensure he did not lose a stroke to the field.
Anirban did not miss a single putt inside ten feet in the third round, enough to cover for the 13 of 18 greens made in regulation. Entering the 2022 Championship, Anirban missed three cuts and a T74 on his last four visits to Ponte Vedra Beach. He was 24-over for those ten rounds. Obviously this week, some lead tape to provide some mass to his irons, Anirban has made the most of the 3.5gms on his sticks to feel the face better and find the right windows to sail forward.
“There’s not much to get too far ahead of yourself. I’m just trying to stay in the moment and just do what I need to do next. I think the short turnaround time actually helps because you don’t really have time to do anything else. You’re just on a schedule and you’re trying to make sure that you are resting and prepping and feeling and doing all the things that you need to do. It’s been pretty good actually,” said Lahiri, who will head out with Ghim and Munoz in the last group at 1.01pm local time.
Lahiri, whose best finish on TOUR was a T2 at the 2017 Memorial Tournament, had led into the final round at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia in 2016 before finishing tied third. In the weather-interrupted PLAYERS this week, the 34-year-old has been swinging it freely where he ranks 15th and seventh in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Approach the Green respectively. He ranks 14th for Putting through three rounds at TPC Sawgrass.
“I love golf, and when you know you can play well and you don’t, you’re not happy. Then when you start playing well again and you start hitting it the way you want to hit it again, you are happy. I mean, it’s pretty simple. I’m just in that place right now where I’m just hitting it nice, I’m seeing it nice, I’m feeling it nice, and that just makes me happy,” he said.
“My irons were pretty much the same as when I came here seven years ago. That’s basically what we thought and talked about and said, let’s experiment. It can’t be worse than what it is. I’ve been hitting it so bad to be honest. I was like, you know what, let’s just throw some lead tape on and see what happens because I’ve felt like I’m swinging good, and yeah, it made a huge difference, obviously, you can see.”
Lahiri moved to five-under on Sunday when he reached the green in two, taking two putts for his birdie. At the fifteenth, Lahiri looked on in horror as the ball clung to the lip like it had glue on it. After waiting in vain to see it fall, Anirban had to tap in for bogey. He made amends at the 16th when he made an eleven footer for birdie.
He also made an excellent par from around seven feet on the 18th to ensure that he remained the leader.
