Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Augusta (Georgia), Indian star Anirban Lahiri fought it out on yet another tough scoring day in challenging conditions to card a three-over 75 in the third round of the Masters Tournament on Saturday, to move up to tied-38th.
High winds that changed direction through the day pushed the average score to over 76, more than four shots over Augusta National’s par. This made it an even more difficult day than the second day, when the average score was 75. Thus, despite his 75, Lahiri actually made ground and moved up nine spots from the overnight tied-47th. Lahiri’s three-round total is an eight-over 224.
At the top of the leaderboard, too, there was mayhem due to the high scores but Jordan Spieth held on to the lead for the seventh successive round at the Masters, dating back to the first round of last year’s tournament. Spieth carded a 73 in the third round for a total of 213. One shot behind him was PGA Tour rookie Smylie Kaufman, who shot the day’s best score of 69. This was the first card in the 60s since the first round. German veteran Bernhard Langer shot a 70 in the third round to be placed tied-third at 215, along with Hideki Matsuyama (72 in Round 3).
Spieth had a four-shot lead when he came off the 16th green, but a bogey on the 17th and a double bogey on the 18th saw his rivals gain on him. The 58-year-old Langer, who could become the oldest-ever Major winner, won the second of his two Masters in 1993, when Spieth was not even born.
I played well: Lahiri
Lahiri had two birdies in his round — on the par-5 second and par-4 seventh — but he also had five bogeys. He bogeyed the first, third, fifth, 15th and 16th holes. The stretch between 15-17 holes has cost Lahiri no less than seven dropped shots in the three rounds. “Well, I played good and shot three-over and I had three three-putts, so it is not as if I played badly. On the contrary, I think I played quite well. I just did not score and didn’t get the putts to fall,” Lahiri said.
Lahiri likened the tough conditions to a school examination: “It’s like writing an exam. For four-and-a-half hours you have to just grind it out. At no point can you let up even a moment. It is really difficult conditions out there.”
“Through this week, I have played well enough for 13-14 holes and then had a weak finish and given away a lot of shots each day,” he added. “It can be mentally exhausting when you have to check so many things like lie, ball flight, wind, when it is changing and so many things, so it is like being in a Brain Gym all the time. There is no option but to be patient.”
Lahiri did have a massive high when a 40-foot putt dropped for a birdie on the par-4 seventh. “That 40-footer on the seventh was a bit of a bonus. It was one of those things, when you are trying to lag the putt for a two-putt and it just went in,” he said.
Though Lahiri did have one birdie off a par-five hole (second), he said: “I have not scored off the par-fives the way I should have.” He has had just one birdie on a par-five hole in three rounds, but dropped three bogeys.
Historic chance
If Spieth wins, he will be the first player to win back-to-back Masters titles since Tiger Woods (2001-2002); if Langer wins, he would be the oldest; in case the title goes to Matsuyama, he will be the first Asian to achieve this feat. And if Kaufman emerges as the man with the Green Jacket, he will be the first first-timer wearing it since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
However, with Jason Day, Danny Willett and Dustin Johnson packed together at an even-par 216, and Soren Kjeldsen, Brandt Snedeker and Lee Westwood clubbed together at 217, no less than 10 players are within four shots of the lead. And yes, Rory McIlroy (77 in Round 3) is tied 11th with Daniel Berger (74) at 218, five behind Spieth.
