With seven birdies, the Swede played well in the third round as well. Had it not been for a snowy double bogey on the 18th and last hole, he would have been in very good shape for the final round.
Now he shares eighth place at -8 with two others. Leading American Scottie Scheffler is four strokes back. A lot can happen on the TPC Sawgrass course, with capricious weather and challenging holes. During the course of the competition, there has been a new leader after each round.
Ten years ago, in 2013, Lingmerth himself was in the lead heading into the final round of the event, but was eventually beaten by Tiger Woods to finish tied for second.
“I’m proud of the way I fought then and hopefully I can fight again tomorrow and make it interesting again,” says the 35-year-old.
“A little different”
In the last ten months, some things have fallen into place for the Swede, both in terms of the swing and the putts. There are both similarities and differences compared to 2013, and Lingmerth is well-acquainted with the surroundings, having lived nearby since 2012.
— The course is a little different. They’ve made some changes, and – the obvious – we’re now playing earlier in the year with over-sown grass, which we didn’t used to have. So it’s little things like that that definitely changed the overall experience, Lingmerth says when comparing then and now.
Roller Coaster
A lot of other things have also happened during the ten years. Lingmerth is playing the competition for the first time since 2018.
— It’s been a rollercoaster, that’s one word that sums it up. I mean, there have been some great moments, but there have also been some really tough moments over the last few years,” said David Lingmerth after Saturday’s round, continuing:
— Fortunately, I have made some progress in the last year and golf is more fun again.
In this year’s edition, the winner receives a record sum, 4.5 million dollars corresponding to roughly 48 million kroner.