PGA Tour: India’s Anirban Lahiri gives himself fighting chance at first win; Taiwan’s Yu chasing Korn Ferry title
- Indian golfer’s level-par 70 leaves him in tie for third at Wells Fargo Championship
- One shot separates Kevin Yu and China’s Dou Zecheng at Simmons Bank Open in Tennessee
India’s Anirban Lahiri equated his level-par 70 in the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship to a 12-round boxing match on Saturday, as he earned another legitimate shot at winning his first PGA Tour title.
Battling sweeping winds, cold and rain in Maryland at TPC Potomac, Lahiri fought brilliantly to move up into a tie for third place at 4-under, four back of new leader Keegan Bradley. The American shot the day’s best of 67 for a two-shot lead over Max Homa (71).
It was a good day for Asian golfers generally in the US, with Taiwan’s Kevin Yu shooting a 5-under 67 at the Simmons Bank Open to open up a slender one-shot lead over China’s Dou Zecheng and Brent Grant of the US going into the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour event in Tennessee.
“I just said that it feels like I’ve just gone 12 rounds in a pro boxing match,” Lahiri said. “You’re fighting everything, you’re fighting your body, the elements, the water, the cold, the conditions. Yeah, it’s tough work and you just have to grit your teeth and kind of grind it out.”
In 157 previous starts on the tour, Lahiri has finished runner-up twice, most recently at The Players Championship in March.
Since his near miss at TPC Sawgrass, the 34-year-old has posted two top-15s in his last three starts and moved to 55th on the FedEx Cup standings. He knows he cannot get ahead of himself if he is to grab that elusive first win.
“You just have to think about the next shot because it’s hard to commit to shots, it’s hard to make decisions,” Lahiri said.