Lahiri leads by 1 as Players Championship hits home stretch

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Anirban Lahiri of India steadied himself early with a par and moved back in front with a 12-foot birdie to complete a 5-under 67 on Monday morning and take a one-shot lead into the final round of The Players Championship.

The tournament that seems like it will never end now has a clear sight to the finish line and the $3.6 million payoff to the winner.

And the road is just as crowded.

Sebastian Munoz of Colombia completed the low round of the long week with bogey-free 65 and was in the group one shot behind along with Doug Ghim (68), Paul Casey (69) and Sam Burns (71).

Fourteen players were separated by three shots, the margin Justin Thomas made up in the final round last year. The final round this year was scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Lahiri would be among the biggest surprise winners in a championship that features the strongest and deepest field in golf. While he has won nine times on tours in Asia and Europe, and played in the Presidents Cup in 2015, he has never won on the PGA Tour.

He is No. 332 in the world and goes after that first PGA Tour title at an event with the largest purse in golf at $20 million, with $3.6 million to the winner.

None of that was enough to cause him a sleepless night going into the final day. He knew he had 25 holes left when he returned in ideal conditions Monday morning.

“That’s a lot of golf on a lot of golf course,” Lahiri said. “There’s not much to get too far ahead of yourself. I’m just trying to stay in the moment and just do what I need to do next.”

Lahiri, after a bogey on No. 15 to fall back into a share of the lead, got up-and-down from left of the green on the par-5 16th with a 12-foot birdie putt to move ahead. He was at 9-under 207.

Thomas was trying to stay in the game in his bid to become the first back-to-back winner of The Players since it began in 1974. But he found the water on the par-5 16th for bogey, and his pitch from the trees on the 18th went into the water. He had to make a 12-foot putt for bogey and a 72, leaving him six shots behind.

Tom Hoge, who shared the 18- and 36-hole lead, had a 72 and joined Cameron Smith (69) in the group two behind. Among those three back were former British Open champion Shane Lowry, whose third round was highlighted by a hole-in-one on the island-green 17th; Louis Oosthuizen and Russell Knox, who left Scotland for Jacksonville University and never left.

While it has been hard to keep track of days, the tournament finally took shape Monday morning as the number of players in contention seemed to grow.

The Players is looked upon as the fifth-biggest tournament in the world with its $20 million purse, a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and three-year exemptions to the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.

It requires navigating a final round on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass, famous for its water even in sunshine.

Munoz made the cut with one shot to spare. Because of all the delays, he began the third round on the back nine away from the leaders and wound up among them, making an 18-foot birdie on the par-5 ninth hole to finish his round.

Casey is the most experienced among the top seven on the leaderboard, mainly from his Ryder Cup appearances. He started The Players with a triple bogey and now is one behind.

“What an opportunity,” Casey said. “I know you guys would say it’s not a star-studded leaderboard, it’s not the usual suspects. But every single PGA Tour event, the level of golf is unbelievable.”

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