February 07, 2016: Even as the crowds continued to soar at the TPC Scottsdale, Anirban Lahiri found some much needed resilience to shoot an even 71 in the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The Indian is lying T39, eleven behind the lead held by Danny Lee, who shot 67 to lead by three going into the final round on Sunday.
As a record 201,003 fans witnessed the action, Lahiri battled hard during an up and down round to stay even despite suffering four bogeys.
Lahiri was one under through the fifth, but he slipped to one over for the day when he made bogey at the par-4 ninth hole. Another bogey at the 12th hole saw him slide further, but he showed great character to make birdies at the 13th and 16th to sign off on a positive note.
The Stadium Course has been swamped by people this week, with the tournament well on course to obliterate the previous number by a big margin. The largest crowd at the Stadium Course was 189,722 in 2014, a mark erased comfortably on Saturday.
The Phoenix Open also set a day record on Friday, when 160,415 people attended the event. The number this week stands at an impressive 535,035 – just short of the weekly mark of 564,368 set last year.
Meanwhile, Lee added a 67 to his 67-66 in the first two rounds to take a commanding three shot lead into the final round. Hideki Matsuyama (68) and Rickie Fowler (70) are lying second at an overall score of 203.
Bryce Molder shot the day’s best score of 64 to soar into T4 alongside Boo Weekley (65) a further shot behind at 204. Phil Mickelson rediscovered some of his vintage best to post a 65 and climb into sixth position at 205.
“I’m just trying to enjoy myself and I am,” Lee said. “It’s so much fun out there, so many people just cheering for Rickie instead of me, unfortunately. But I’m having fun.”
“Winning at the Greenbrier Classic gave me a lot of confidence,” added Lee. “It kind of taught me how to be on the top and what I need to work on and what it takes to win a golf tournament.”
