Anirban Lahiri did not have a great day as he missed a bunch of makeable putts but did well hang onto a one-over 71 that still keeps him inside top-10 at the end of the third round of the Honda Classic.
Anirban Lahiri did not have a great day as he missed a bunch of makeable putts but did well hang onto a one-over 71 that still keeps him inside top-10 at the end of the third round of the Honda Classic.
Lahiri, who had just one birdie on the 12th and an eagle on third before that, dropped shots on first, sixth, 10th and 14th. Lahiri was now six-under and Tied-eighth but eight shots behind leader, Rickie Fowler, who continued his imperious march with a round of 65 after 66-66 on first two days.
Lahiri missed a few putts inside five feet, a couple more inside 10 and another two between 10-15 feet. It could well have been a round at least 3-4 four shots better, but he hung on as he played out the Bear Trap in even par with all four pars between 15th and 18th.
Fowler, who did not have a win on PGA Tour in 2016, kept his lead and finished Saturday strongly and has now built a four-shot lead going into the final round. Fowler made two birdies over the last three holes at relatively benign PGA National as everyone else around him was making mistakes.
Fowler was four shots ahead of Tyrrell Hatton of England, playing his first PGA TOUR event in Florida. Hatton ran off three straight birdies to get within one of the lead until he went long on the 17th and made bogey, then left a wedge short of the 18th green and had to scramble for par and a 66.
Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer was in position to join him until he took bogey from the middle of the fairway on the 18th and wound up with a 68. That left him in a large group at 7-under 203 that included Emiliano Grillo, who finished his 65 just as the leaders were starting the third round.
Ryan Palmer and Wesley Bryan, tied for the lead going into another good scoring day in South Florida, slipped towards the end. Palmer (73) played the final 11 holes in 4 over and was seven shots behind. Bryan shot 72 and was five behind.
Fowler hasn't won since Abu Dhabi a year ago in January.
His last PGA Tour win was in September 2015 at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Converting large into wins is never easy, especially around a course like the PGA National. The forecast was for strong wind on Sunday, which could make it even tougher for everyone.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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