By Rahul Banerji
Anirban Lahiri continued his impressive run on LIV Golf debut in Boston, moving up to sole fourth place with Sunday’s final round to go.
The Indian ace built on his opening four-under 66 with an even better display on Saturday, carding a five-under 65 at the International Course to sit three shots off the lead on nine-under 131.
The first Indian signing on the LIV Golf roster, Lahiri was bogey-free for 44 holes before dropping his first shot seven holes into his second round of the $ 25 million tournament.
In fact, he and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana were the only two in the star-studded field to have not dropped a shot and both bogeyed the same hole, the par-4 ninth.
The Thai also racked up an amazing stat to underline his consistency, chalking up a near-flawless record of hitting greens in regulating, having missed just one over the first 36 holes.
Overnight joint leader Talor Gooch held on to top spot on the leaderboard with a five-under 65, two shots ahead of his 4 Aces captain Dustin Johnson.
Their combined efforts (65 and 63) also saw the Aces – winners of the last two team events – back on top of the standings three shots ahead of Phil Mickelson’s Hy Flyers, 22-under to 19-under.
If he can extend his current run of form, Lahiri is poised to record the best finish by an Asian player in the LIV Golf Invitational series, that being sixth place by Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma in Portland.
Early warning
Lahiri was under pressure early on Saturday to keep his clean slate and did well to bring in a par on his opening hole, the third.
“I made a difficult up and down for par, but after that I played really well,” the 35-year-old was quoted as saying on the Asian Tour website.
“I am very happy with my focus, and I was very happy with my rhythm.
Two bogeys marked his round on Saturday, on the ninth, and then the first, which was the Indian ace’s penultimate hole.
“I hit the driver well again, and on this golf course, if you can find the fairways, it opens a lot of opportunities. Again, I could have putted better, so I do believe I have a much lower one in me,” he said.
“I think the way this golf course is, you can go low if you are playing well. I will need a 62 or a 63 if I have to win the tournament, and I think it is very possible the way I am playing.”
Gooch was a shot ahead of Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who shot a 65 as well. Lahiri and Niemann are among the six new LIV Golf signings making their debut at the Boston Invitational.
DJ on song
Former world number one Johnson was third on 10-under 130 after the joint best round of the day – a 63.
livgolf.com adds: Both Gooch and Johnson have finished inside the top 10 in each of the first three events and are in good shape to maintain those streaks.
But they would like to claim both the individual and team trophies on Sunday.
“I wouldn’t say we’re in control,” Gooch said. “We’re one bad day away from not getting another win.
“We’ve got to go out and play some more great golf again. … I know there’s a bunch of great golfers, and we can’t show up and expect to win.”
Johnson, a two-time major winner, has been consistent in his first 10 rounds on LIV Golf, but had not gone really low until Saturday.
The 63 not only was his low round at a LIV event but matches the low score of any player in this inaugural season.
“I’ve been playing solid I feel like every week,” Johnson said. “Each round I’ve felt like I’m doing the right things. Eventually it’s all going to come together.
“Even today was good at times, but still made quite a few mistakes. The game is definitely in good form, and I like the direction it’s heading in.”
Settling in
Niemann also had chances to go lower but missed several short putts, including two lip-outs on consecutive holes. Still, he’s settled in nicely after joining LIV earlier this week.
“I’m playing my best golf,” said the world’s 19th-ranked player.
“Hit the ball amazing off the tee, hit pretty close with the wedges. I’m actually putting really good. I just can’t quite see the breaks.
“Those were a lot of good putts that I hit … If I can make a few putts tomorrow, it’s going to be a good round.”
In the previous two events, the 4 Aces GC has won by a cumulative 15 strokes. With three counting scores in the final round, their chasers are hoping to put some heat on the all-American foursome.
“They’re playing some good golf,” said Mickelson, whose team was led on Saturday by 66s from Germany’s Bernd Wiesberger and newcomer Cameron Tringale of the US.
“They have a very deep team. It’s going to be an exciting day tomorrow because you’ve got a bunch of great names fighting it out for the individual title and you’ve got three or four teams that are right in there that with three scores counting can make a big move.”
Vast improvement
Asian Tour number two Sihwan Kim’s mental fortitude was as impressive as his physical play on Saturday.
After a nightmarish 17-over 87 on Friday, Kim bounced back with a 7-under 63, tying Dustin Johnson for the low round of the day.
In the process, Kim helped lift the Iron Heads GC into third place in the team competition after 36 holes, showing players can contribute to the team effort no matter where they sit on the individual leaderboard.
Kim, playing this week thanks to his status on the International Series Order of Merit on the Asian Tour, suffered four bogeys, four doubles, along with a sextuple bogey on the par-4 16th on Friday.
His 87 was 10 strokes higher than the next highest score.
“A playing wreck with my swing,” Kim said. “Lots of things going on in my head. Just kind of lost it yesterday. But I found something on the range today.”
Team leaderboard
| Teams | Counting Scores |
| 1. 4 Aces GC, 22 under | Dustin Johnson 63 Talor Gooch 65 |
| 2. Hy Flyers GC, 19 under | Bernd Wiesberger 66 Cameron Tringale 66 |
| 3. Iron Heads GC, 18 under | Sihwan Kim 63 Sadom Kaewkanjana 66 |
| 4. Punch GC, 16 under | Marc Leishman 64 Matt Jones 67 |
| 5. Torque GC, 15 under | Joaquin Niemann 65 Scott Vincent 65 |
| T-6. Fireballs GC, 14 under | Sergio Garcia 64 Abraham Ancer 65 |
| T-6. Stinger GC, 14 under | Branden Grace 66 Louis Oosthuizen 67 |
| T-6. Crushers GC, 14 under | Anirban Lahiri 65 Bryson DeChambeau 69 |
| 9. Smash GC, 11 under | Jason Kokrak 65 Brooks Koepka 67 |
| 10. Majesticks GC, 10 under | Ian Poulter 67 Lee Westwood 67 |
| 11. Cleeks GC, 7 under | Martin Kaymer 67 Graeme McDowell 70 |
| 12. Niblicks GC, 5 under | James Piot 69 Harold Varner III 70 |
Also read: Lahiri makes spirited LIV Golf debut at Boston Invitational
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