Indian golfer Anirban lahiri turned in an improved performance in the third round but was still unable to make a move up the leader board at the Masters, staying tied 50th after carding a two-over 74. He shot one birdie and one bogey each, besides a double bogey that dragged his score down in the third round.
lahiri’s third round of two-over 74 saw him move to four-over 220 but stayed in the same place at the end of third day — in tied 50th place. lahiri was solid and played better than the second day, but below par putting, including as many as three three-putts, did him in at the Augusta National Golf Club.
“I played pretty good for the first six and a half holes and then I hit one bad shot — my approach shot on the seventh hole. Yet from there where I should have made a bogey, I made a double bogey. I went four feet past and missed my bogey putt, too,” he explained.
“I did that three times today and those were my dropped shots. After the double on seventh; on the 11th hole I was sitting on a 20-foot birdie, but not only missed that but also the return and made a bogey. Then on 15th, again I three-putted and missed a chance for a birdie. Those were the big disappointments for me in the third round.”
lahiri parred the first six holes before a double bogey on the seventh. It was his second double bogey of the week after the one on 14th in the second round. He bogeyed again on 11th and his sole birdie of the day came on par-three 12th on the Amen Corner.
Towards the top end of the leader board, World No. 4 Jordan Spieth, who has won three times since the last week of November — Australian Open, Hero World Challenge and the Valspar Championships — stayed in front with a gutsy showing at 16-under.
last year’s runner-up Spieth has finished first (Valspar), second (Texas Open) and tied second (Houston Open) in last three starts in four weeks. another record for Spieth Jordan Spieth seized control of the Masters with a performance not seen since another 21-year-old, Tiger Woods, first blazed his way around Augusta National.
He made four birdies in five holes on the back nine to stretch his lead to seven shots. Standing on the 17th tee, he already was on the same score - 18-under par — that only Woods had ever reached in the Masters.
And then it all changed Saturday in two holes. Out of nowhere, Spieth made a double bogey. In the worst spot he had been all week, Spieth ended 30 minutes of chaos with a bold shot that saved his par, set another Masters scoring record and gave the 21-year-old Texan a four-shot lead over Rose going into the final round.
On a day of charges and cheers for the biggest names in golf — Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson — Spieth now gets to return and do this all over again.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Spieth said after his 2-under 70. It might have felt even longer without one last display of his exquisite short game. Spieth put his approach on the 18th into the gallery, right of the green, behind a bunker with the green below and running away from him.
Spieth saved par from 10 feet to stay at 16-under 200, breaking by one the 54-hole record held by Woods (1997) and Raymond Floyd (1976). “That just took some guts,” Spieth said. “And having been in this scenario, or having been in contention enough, having been on tour for a few years, I felt comfortable enough playing that full flop.
If you caught me a year-and-a-half ago, I probably never would have played that shot. Woods and McIlroy will play together in the final round of a major for the first time, though both are 10 shots behind.