PLAYERS posts third-round notes

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Completed Third-Round Notes – Monday, March 14

Weather (Sunday): Mostly sunny. High of 52. Wind NE 6-12 mph. Third-round starting times were 3:15-5:16 p.m. in threesomes off Nos. 1 and 10. The third round was suspended due to darkness at 7:32 p.m. with no players completing the round.

Weather (Monday): Partly cloudy. High of 64 (morning). Wind E 10-20 mph. The third round resumed at 8 a.m. and was completed at 10:54 a.m.

Third-Round Leaderboard

Anirban Lahiri 67-73-67—207 (-9)

Sebastian Munoz 70-73-65—208 (-8)

Doug Ghim 70-70-68—208 (-8)

Paul Casey 70-69-69—208 (-8)

Sam Burns 68-69-71—208 (-8)

Things to Know

  • Anirban Lahiri holds a one-stroke lead entering the final round, his second career 54-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR (0-for-1)
  • Lahiri has not won on the PGA TOUR; two players have earned first TOUR title at THE PLAYERS (Craig Perks/2002, Tim Clark/2010)
  • Two best 54-hole positions of Doug Ghim’s PGA TOUR career (69 starts): T2/2022 PLAYERS, T3/2021 PLAYERS
  • Two holes-in-one in the third round: Shane Lowry (No. 17; first since Ryan Moore/2019), Viktor Hovland (No. 8)
  • Final-round starting times: 11 a.m. – 1:01 p.m. Monday (threesomes off Nos. 1 and 10)
  • Last unscheduled Monday finish on the PGA TOUR: 2021 FedEx St. Jude Championship (first event of FedExCup Playoffs)

Third-Round Lead Notes

20 Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win THE PLAYERS Championship (most recent: Webb Simpson, 2018)

7 Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2021-22 (most recent: Ryan Brehm, Puerto Rico Open)

Anirban Lahiri (1st/-9)

  • Second 54-hole lead/co-lead of his PGA TOUR career; first: led by four strokes at 2016 CIMB Classic (finished T3)
  • Third lead/co-lead after any round on TOUR; T1/R1/2016 American Express (finished T28), 1st/R3/2016 CIMB Classic (finished T3)
  • Seeks first TOUR title in his 154th start; with a win, would become the third player to earn his first PGA TOUR title at THE PLAYERS, joining Craig Perks (2002) and Tim Clark (2010)
  • Best result on TOUR: T2/2017 the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday
  • One of two players in the field with two eagles (par-4 6th/R1, par-5 11th/R2), along with Viktor Hovland; ties his career-high for eagles in a PGA TOUR event (fifth instance; most recent: 2021 Barbasol Championship)
  • One player from India has won on the PGA TOUR: Arjun Atwal, 2010 Wyndham Championship
  • Eligible for the event by qualifying for the 2021 FedExCup Playoffs (finished the season No. 118 in the FedExCup standings)

Miscellaneous notes

  • Doug Ghim (T2/-8) holds the best 54-hole position of his career; Ghim is making his second start at THE PLAYERS and 69th career start on TOUR, and his two best 54-hole positions have come at THE PLAYERS (T2/2022, T3/2021)
  • Paul Casey (T2/-8) began the tournament with a triple bogey on his first hole (No. 10); in the ShotLink era (2003-present), there have been 855 total winners of stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR and none have made a triple bogey on the first hole of the tournament
  • Sebastian Munoz (T2/-8) and Scott Stallings (T15/-5), both starting on the back nine, record 7-under 65s in the third round, the low scores of the week
  • Ponte Vedra Beach resident and World No. 10 Cameron Smith (T2/-8) is the only player in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking within four strokes of the lead entering the final round; Smith is one of three players that has won on the PGA TOUR in each of the last three seasons including the current season (2020 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions), along with Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland
  • Sam Burns (T2/-8) is the defending champion at next week’s Valspar Championship; the last player to enter a PGA TOUR event as the defending champion and the winner of the previous tournament was Justin Thomas at the 2018 PGA Championship (won 2018 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational the week before)
  • Shane Lowry made a hole-in-one at No. 17 (124 yards, wedge), the 10th on No. 17 on record (1983-present) and the first since 2019 (Ryan Moore/R1); second career hole-in-one on TOUR (2016 Masters Tournament)
  • Viktor Hovland (T20/-4) made a hole-in-one at No. 8 (219 yards, 4-iron), the eighth on No. 8 on record (1983-present) and the first since 2021 (Brendon Todd/R2); second career hole-in-one on TOUR (2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
  • Fifth round at THE PLAYERS on record (1983-present) with multiple holes-in-one (1986/R1, 2000/R4, 2006/R2, 2021/R2, 2022/R3)

Thursday weather summary

Weather: Cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. High of 72. Wind SW 8-16 mph.

Delay: The start of the first round was delayed one hour due to overnight rain and thunderstorms and began at 7:45 a.m.

First suspension: The first round was suspended at 11 a.m. due to dangerous weather in the area and resumed at 3:14 p.m. (four hours, 14 minutes).

Second suspension: Due to darkness, the first round was suspended for the day at 6:36 p.m. 69 of 72 players in the morning wave completed the first round Thursday (all but the group of Hank Lebioda, Henrik Norlander, Taylor Pendrith). 60 of 72 players in the afternoon wave began the first round Thursday (none completed).

Rainfall: 1.75 inches (1.30 overnight before play Thursday, 0.45 inches during the suspension); 2.05 inches total for the week.

Preferred lies: Preferred lies in effect for the first round.

Notes: Last delay or suspension of play due to weather at THE PLAYERS: Round 2, 2016; last on TOUR: Round 1, 2021 Houston Open

Friday weather summary

Weather: Cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. High of 71. Wind SSE 6-12 mph.

First-round resumption: The first round resumed at 7:15 a.m. The morning wave completed the first round at 7:48 a.m.

Suspension: Due to unplayable course conditions, the first round was suspended at 11:15 a.m. The second round was scheduled to begin at 11:20 a.m. Lightning later developed, causing a dangerous weather situation. At the time of suspension, 96 players had completed the first round and 47 players were left to complete the round (Luke List withdrew due to a neck injury during the round Friday).

Called for the day: Play did not resume Friday after the suspension of play at 11:15 a.m. and was called for the day at 3 p.m.

Rainfall: 2.10 inches; 4.15 inches total for the week.

Preferred lies: Preferred lies in effect for the first round.

Saturday weather summary

Weather (morning): Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms. High of 70. Wind SW 20-30 mph.

Weather (afternoon): Partly cloudy. High of 65. Wind WNW 20-30 mph, with gusts to 35 mph.

First-round resumption: The first round resumed at noon and was completed at 2:01 p.m., 54 hours, 16 minutes after it began (55 hours, 16 minutes after it was scheduled to begin). It was announced Friday at 3 p.m. that play would not resume before 11 a.m. Saturday.

Beginning of second round: The second round began at noon ET. First wave of tee times: noon-2:01 p.m; second wave: 5:10-7:11 p.m.

Called for the day: Due to darkness, the second round was suspended at 6:29 p.m. ET. 48 of 71 players in the first wave completed the second round Saturday. 45 of 72 players in the second wave began the second round Saturday (none completed).

Rainfall: 0.65 inches; 4.80 inches for the week.

Preferred lies: Preferred lies in effect for the first and second rounds.

Sunday weather summary

Weather: Mostly sunny. High of 54. Wind NE 10-20 mph.

Second-round resumption: The second round resumed at 8:15 a.m. and was completed at 3:08 p.m.

Beginning of third round: The third round began at 3:15 p.m. (starting times: 3:15-5:16 p.m. in threesomes off Nos. 1 and 10).

Called for the day: Due to darkness, the third round was suspended at 7:32 p.m. with no players completing the round.

Rainfall: None

Preferred lies: Preferred lies in effect for the second round, but not the third round.

Monday weather summary

Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 67. Wind E 10-20 mph.

Third-round resumption: The third round resumed at 8 a.m. and was completed at 10:54 a.m.

Beginning of final round: The final round began at 11 a.m. (starting times: 11 a.m. – 1:01 p.m. in threesomes off Nos. 1 and 10).

Rainfall: None

Preferred lies: Preferred lies not in effect for third and final rounds

Monday finishes at THE PLAYERS Championship (7): 1974, 1976, 1981, 1983, 2000, 2001, 2005

Unscheduled Monday finishes on the PGA TOUR since the start of the 2016-17 season

2021 FedEx St. Jude Championship

2019 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

2018 BMW Championship

2018 Barbasol Championship

2018 Farmers Insurance Open

2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

2016 RSM Classic

Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact Challenge

As part of its Eagles for Impact Challenge, Morgan Stanley will donate $5,000 for every eagle made at THE PLAYERS to First Tee – a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges – to help support the recruitment, development and retention of diverse coaches to mentor the next generation. Here’s a breakdown of eagles made and dollars donated:

Round Eagles Donations (in $ amount)

  • Round 1: 16 for $80,000
  • Round 2: eight for $40,000
  • Round 3: eight for $40,000