Ponte Vedra (US): Golfer Anirban Lahiri slumped to a mid-round tumble as he missed the cut for the third time in as many starts at the PLAYERS Championships here Friday.
Starting with a solid 69 under his belt, Lahiri looked even stronger with two birdies in first seven holes, but it literally went downhill after that and he finished at 75 and an even par total that ended his campaign.
But Tiger Woods, who went out around an hour after Lahiri, battled to a 71 after a 72 on first day. His total of 143 held up against the cut line, but not before World No.2 Justin Thomas (70) and World No.4 Jordan Spieth (68) bogeyed the 18th, allowing Woods and some others to stay alive for the weekend.
Meanwhile, leader Webb Simpson flirted with a chance for a 59 though a botched up shot on the Par-3 17th’s Island Green saw him end at 63, still enough to tie the course record and emerge sole leader.
Lahiri faltered in the second round after making a great start with birdies on the sixth and seventh holes, which saw him rise to five-under and tied seventh at that early stage Friday.
A missed par-putt on eighth saw him drop his first bogey on the day, but the ninth may well have been the turning point of the day. The bogey on par-5 ninth after missing par from 12 feet was a disappointment. Then came a three-putt on 10th and that ruined his day and the round.
“I did not take advantage of the Par-5s like I should. I did not put myself in the right positions and allowed the momentum to slip away after being 2-under through 7 in second round. I three-putted on nine and allowed things to get away from me on 10 and 11 and so on,” said Lahiri after a disappointing day.
Leader Simpson seemed to be holing from everywhere. He holed a 35-footer for eagle besides another 30-footer and a 27-footer for birdies among his nine birdies and an eagle.
Simpson’s 63 gave him a five-shot lead over Charl Schwarzel (66), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Danny Lee (66), while Chesson Hadley (69), Charles Howell III (67) and Alex Noren (69) were tied fifth.