THIRD ROUND REVIEW & FINAL ROUND PREVIEW OF THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
14 MARCH, 2022 - SHANK MEDIA, BY MATT HOOPER: INDIA'S ANIRBAN LAHIRI IS PERHAPS ON THE VERGE OF CLINCHING THE BIGGEST TITLE EVER WON BY AN INDIAN GOLFER AS HE BEGINS THE FINAL ROUND WITH A 1 STROKE LEAD OVER PAUL CASEY, DOUG GHIM, SEBASTIAN MUNOZ AND SAM BURNS, AS THE DELAYED PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP APPROACHES A THRILLING CONCLUSION AT TOURNAMENT PLAYERS CLUB SAWGRASS.
ROUND THREE WAS CONCLUDED EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON (GMT) AND LAHIRI RETAINED THE LEAD HE HAD BUILT ON SUNDAY EVENING. THE 2-TIME WINNER ON THE DP WORLD TOUR ENDED PLAY LAST NIGHT WITH A 2-PUTT BIRDIE ON THE PAR-FIVE ELEVENTH, THEN HE MADE PAR AT THE 12TH, 13TH AND 14TH WHEN HE RESUMED THIS MORNING, BEFORE MAKING A BOGEY AT THE 15TH TO FALL BACK INTO A FOUR-WAY TIE FOR THE LEAD. A FINE UP AND DOWN AT 16 SAW HIM MOVE BACK TO 9-UNDER-PAR AND HE MANAGED TO AVOID TROUBLE AT 17 AND 18 TO REMAIN AT THE HEAD OF AFFAIRS GOING INTO THE FINAL 18.
LAHIRI WILL PLAY THE FINAL ROUND ALONGSIDE COLOMBIA'S SEBASTIAN MUNOZ AND AMERICAN DOUG GHIM. MUNOZ WON THE 2019 SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP, AND THE 29-YEAR-OLD FROM BOGOTA HAS SHOWN GLIMPSES OF TOP FORM IN RECENT WEEKS WITH TOP 30 FINISHES AT THE GENESIS INVITATIONAL, HONDA CLASSIC AND ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL. MUNOZ ALSO FINISHED 3RD IN RSM CLASSIC AND 4TH AT THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP EARLIER THIS SEASON. THE COLOMBIAN CAME TO GLOBAL PROMINENCE AT THE 2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS LAST SEPTEMBER WHEN HE COMPETED IN THE PLAYOFF FOR BRONZE ALONGSIDE THE LIKES OF RORY MCILROY AND COLLIN MORIKAWA.
MUNOZ SHOT THE LOWEST ROUND OF THE WEEK SO FAR WITH A THIRD ROUND OF 65 WHICH INCLUDED 7 BIRDIES AND 11 PARS. DOUG GHIM WILL COMPLETE THE FINAL GROUP AFTER A THIRD ROUND OF 68 FEATURING 5 BIRDIES AND 1 BOGEY. THE FINAL GROUP WILL TEE-OFF ON THE 1ST HOLE AT 1.01PM ET (5.01PM GMT), 11 MINUTES AFTER THE PENULTIMATE GROUP, WHICH WILL INCLUDE PAUL CASEY, SAM BURNS AND AUSTRALIA'S CAMERON SMITH. CASEY HAS WON 15 TIMES ON THE DP WORLD TOUR AND 3 TIMES ON THE PGA TOUR, AND COULD TAKE THE BIGGEST TITLE OF HIS CAREER THIS EVENING, AND IN DOING SO JOIN AN ELITE GROUP OF GOLFERS TO HAVE WON AT WENTWORTH AND SAWGRASS.
SANDY LYLE WON THE 1987 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AND 1988 WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, GREG NORMAN WON THE 1986 WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP AND 1994 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AND RORY MCILROY WON THE 2014 BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AND 2019 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, MEANING CASEY COULD BECOME JUST THE FOURTH PLAYER TO WIN AT BOTH VENUES AND ONLY THE SECOND EVER GOLFER TO WIN THE FLAGSHIP EVENT OF BOTH THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR.
CASEY SHOT A THIRD ROUND OF 69 including a stunning birdie on the treacherous seventeenth hole, where he rolled in a putt from 34 feet down the hill, securing his second birdie of the week at the island hole.
THE CHASING PACK INCLUDES SHANE LOWRY, LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN, SCOTLAND'S RUSSELL KNOX, HAROLD VARNER III, TOMMY FLEETWOOD, VIKTOR HOVLAND AND JON RAHM, ALL WITHIN 6 SHOTS OF THE LEAD. HOVLAND COULD BECOME THE NEW WORLD NUMBER ONE WITH A VICTORY AT SAWGRASS THIS EVENING. WHATEVER HAPPENS WE ARE SET FOR MORE DRAMA AND MORE HISTORY AT THIS UNIQUE EVENT.
SKY SPORTS' COVERAGE OF THE FINAL ROUND BEGINS AT 4.30PM GMT, SHANK WILL HAVE FINAL ROUND UPDATES FROM THE LAST 9 HOLES ON TWITTER AND POST-TOURNAMENT REFLECTIONS FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF PLAY.
ROUND THREE WAS CONCLUDED EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON (GMT) AND LAHIRI RETAINED THE LEAD HE HAD BUILT ON SUNDAY EVENING. THE 2-TIME WINNER ON THE DP WORLD TOUR ENDED PLAY LAST NIGHT WITH A 2-PUTT BIRDIE ON THE PAR-FIVE ELEVENTH, THEN HE MADE PAR AT THE 12TH, 13TH AND 14TH WHEN HE RESUMED THIS MORNING, BEFORE MAKING A BOGEY AT THE 15TH TO FALL BACK INTO A FOUR-WAY TIE FOR THE LEAD. A FINE UP AND DOWN AT 16 SAW HIM MOVE BACK TO 9-UNDER-PAR AND HE MANAGED TO AVOID TROUBLE AT 17 AND 18 TO REMAIN AT THE HEAD OF AFFAIRS GOING INTO THE FINAL 18.
LAHIRI WILL PLAY THE FINAL ROUND ALONGSIDE COLOMBIA'S SEBASTIAN MUNOZ AND AMERICAN DOUG GHIM. MUNOZ WON THE 2019 SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP, AND THE 29-YEAR-OLD FROM BOGOTA HAS SHOWN GLIMPSES OF TOP FORM IN RECENT WEEKS WITH TOP 30 FINISHES AT THE GENESIS INVITATIONAL, HONDA CLASSIC AND ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL. MUNOZ ALSO FINISHED 3RD IN RSM CLASSIC AND 4TH AT THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP EARLIER THIS SEASON. THE COLOMBIAN CAME TO GLOBAL PROMINENCE AT THE 2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS LAST SEPTEMBER WHEN HE COMPETED IN THE PLAYOFF FOR BRONZE ALONGSIDE THE LIKES OF RORY MCILROY AND COLLIN MORIKAWA.
MUNOZ SHOT THE LOWEST ROUND OF THE WEEK SO FAR WITH A THIRD ROUND OF 65 WHICH INCLUDED 7 BIRDIES AND 11 PARS. DOUG GHIM WILL COMPLETE THE FINAL GROUP AFTER A THIRD ROUND OF 68 FEATURING 5 BIRDIES AND 1 BOGEY. THE FINAL GROUP WILL TEE-OFF ON THE 1ST HOLE AT 1.01PM ET (5.01PM GMT), 11 MINUTES AFTER THE PENULTIMATE GROUP, WHICH WILL INCLUDE PAUL CASEY, SAM BURNS AND AUSTRALIA'S CAMERON SMITH. CASEY HAS WON 15 TIMES ON THE DP WORLD TOUR AND 3 TIMES ON THE PGA TOUR, AND COULD TAKE THE BIGGEST TITLE OF HIS CAREER THIS EVENING, AND IN DOING SO JOIN AN ELITE GROUP OF GOLFERS TO HAVE WON AT WENTWORTH AND SAWGRASS.
SANDY LYLE WON THE 1987 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AND 1988 WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, GREG NORMAN WON THE 1986 WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP AND 1994 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AND RORY MCILROY WON THE 2014 BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AND 2019 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, MEANING CASEY COULD BECOME JUST THE FOURTH PLAYER TO WIN AT BOTH VENUES AND ONLY THE SECOND EVER GOLFER TO WIN THE FLAGSHIP EVENT OF BOTH THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR.
CASEY SHOT A THIRD ROUND OF 69 including a stunning birdie on the treacherous seventeenth hole, where he rolled in a putt from 34 feet down the hill, securing his second birdie of the week at the island hole.
THE CHASING PACK INCLUDES SHANE LOWRY, LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN, SCOTLAND'S RUSSELL KNOX, HAROLD VARNER III, TOMMY FLEETWOOD, VIKTOR HOVLAND AND JON RAHM, ALL WITHIN 6 SHOTS OF THE LEAD. HOVLAND COULD BECOME THE NEW WORLD NUMBER ONE WITH A VICTORY AT SAWGRASS THIS EVENING. WHATEVER HAPPENS WE ARE SET FOR MORE DRAMA AND MORE HISTORY AT THIS UNIQUE EVENT.
SKY SPORTS' COVERAGE OF THE FINAL ROUND BEGINS AT 4.30PM GMT, SHANK WILL HAVE FINAL ROUND UPDATES FROM THE LAST 9 HOLES ON TWITTER AND POST-TOURNAMENT REFLECTIONS FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF PLAY.
