Anirban Lahiri
Eagleton – The Golf Resort, Bangalore ,
July 3, 2013: Local favourite Anirban Lahiri sizzled with an awesome
10-under-62 to seize the lead in round two of the PGTI Eagleburg Open being
played at the Eagleton Golf Resort near Bangalore .
Lahiri’s two-day total stands at nine-under-135. Lucknow ’s Sanjay Kumar fired a
five-under-67 on Wednesday to be placed second at eight-under-136.
Anirban Lahiri (73-62) was off to a flying start in round
two as he had a 30-feet eagle putt on the opening 10th where he managed to
extract a birdie. The 26-year-old went on to convert 15-footers for birdies on
the 11th and 12th. Anirban’s chip for eagle missed the hole by a whisker
on the 15th where he picked up his fourth birdie of the day.
Lahiri carried on the good work on his second-nine as he
collected birdies on the first, third, fourth and fifth. He nailed a 20-feet
putt on the third and a 12-footer on the fifth. The three-time Asian Tour
winner recovered well from the bunker to salvage a birdie on the seventh before
landing his chip within inches of the pin for his last birdie on the ninth. He
thus signed off with a near-perfect bogey-free round.
Incidentally, Lahiri also holds the record for the joint
lowest-to-par score in a single round ever recorded in India, thanks to his
round of 12-under-60 posted a couple of years back in Greater Noida.
“It was pretty close to a dream round. I didn’t miss a
single green today and had eight one-putts. I felt good about my hitting as I
did not hit bad golf shots unlike the first round. I was very calm through the
day and judged the speed of the greens to perfection,” said Lahiri, who won on
the PGTI last week.
The 2009 Rolex Rankings champion added, “Another positive
aspect was finding the green in two shots on two par-5s, the 10th and
fourth. I had three missed putts from a range of six to eight feet but that’s
bound to happen in every round. I’d say I’m back on friendly terms with the
course after the ordinary score in round one.”
Lahiri’s score was lower than the course record of 64 but
did not count as a course record due to the application of the ‘preferred lie’
rules.
Sanjay Kumar (69-67), who is the joint holder of the course
record of 64, sank six birdies against a lone bogey in his 67 on
Wednesday thanks to his good form with the wedges. Sanjay now occupies
second position one shot behind the leader.
Sri Lankan K Prabagaran (68-69), the overnight joint leader,
slipped to third place despite a solid 69 in round two. His total reads
seven-under-137.
Gurgaon’s Arshpreet Thind and Rahil Gangjee of Kolkata, the
other two joint leaders from round one, are now placed tied fourth at
five-under-139 along with Bangalore ’s
Chikkarangappa S, Abhinav Lohan of Faridabad and
Delhi ’s Naman
Dawar.
The cut came down at three-over-147. Fifty-three
professionals and one amateur made the cut.
Lahiri congratulates Kapur
Anirban Lahiri, who made his debut appearance at a Major
during the British Open last year, congratulated Shiv Kapur on qualifying for
the 2013 British Open. Lahiri said, “I got the news about Shiv’s qualification
last night. I’m really happy for him and would like to congratulate him for
making it to his second Open. The Open is the most prestigious golf tournament
in the world and every golfer’s ultimate dream. I wish Shiv all the best.”
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