Golf: Anirban Lahiri leads delayed Players Championship

March 14 (UPI) -- Anirban Lahiri fired a 5-under par through the third round Monday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the 2022 Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The tournament, planned for a Thursday through Sunday format, continues to experience reshuffled tee times and disjointed rounds due to wet weather and darkness.

None of the 71 players who made the third-round cut finished the round Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.

"The nature of what we do, it's unpredictable," Lahiri told reporters. "You just don't know. You grind away, you keep chipping away, and when it clicks, it clicks."

Sebastian Munoz carded a 7-under par 65 in the third round and is tied with Doug Ghim, Paul Casey and Sam Burns for second place, one stroke behind Lahiri.

Cameron Smith and Tom Hoge are 7-under through three rounds and are tied for sixth. Shane Lowry, Louis Oosthuizen and Will Zalatoris are among seven players tied for eighth.

Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Brendan Steele, Keegan Bradley and Scott Stallings each sit at 5-under par and are tied for 15th.

Defending champion Justin Thomas, one of the favorites for the tournament, World No. 1 Jon Rahm, and Sergio Garcia are tied for 27th.

Scottie Scheffler, the top player in the FedExCup rankings, is tied for 37th. Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are tied for 57th and 61st, respectively.

Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa are among the top players who didn't make the third-round cut.

Lahiri, who has never won a PGA Tour event, totaled seven birdies, bogies on Nos. 15 and 10 and par on his other nine holes in the third round.

Fleetwood and Tom Hoge were tied for the lead when second-round play was suspended Saturday night. Joaquin Niemann, Lahiri and Keith Mitchell were tied for third at that point.

Fleetwood and Hoge also shared the lead with Brice Garrett when first-round play was suspended Thursday.

The final round of the Players Championship tees off at 1 p.m. and airs through 6:30 p.m. on Golf Channel. Fans also can stream the tournament from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on PGA Tour Live on ESPN+.

The tournament offers a $20 million prize purse, with $3.6 million for the first-place finisher.