Anirban Lahiri of Bangalore
Kolkata, December 26, 2013: Anirban Lahiri of Bangalore fired a
sizzling six-under-66 to take the round one lead at the McLeod Russel Tour
Championship, the PGTI’s year-ending event, being played at the Royal Calcutta
Golf Club (RCGC). Gurgaon-based Jyoti Randhawa returned a five-under-67 to be
on the leader’s tail in second place.
Anirban Lahiri made a perfect start to the tournament by
registering eight birdies against two bogeys in round one. Lahiri’s putter was
hot as he made birdie putts from 15 to 25 feet on the third, eighth and
17th holes. The 26-year-old from the Eagleton Golf Resort, Bangalore , also hit it
well by landing it within six feet for birdies on the ninth, 10th and 18th.
Anirban, a winner of three titles in 2013 (one on Asian Tour and two on PGTI),
capitalized on both par-5s, the fourth and 15th, after finding the green in two
shots and setting up two-putt birdies.
Lahiri’s two bogeys came as a result of his ball being
plugged in the bunker on the seventh and his tee shot landing in the water
hazard on the 16th.
Lahiri said, “I holed almost everything except for one short
par putt on the 16th. The best shot of the day has to be the 25-feet downhill
birdie putt on the 17th. That putt wasn’t easy to execute. I struck it well and
found most fairways. The conditions were tough in the morning as it was windy.
I feel a lot more comfortable at RCGC now than I was few years back.
“I’ve played a lot of golf with Rashid and Chikka, both of
whom were my playing partners today. Therefore it was like a fun game and there
was no pressure. This week the key will be to find the fairways with the tee
shots as the fairways are quite narrow here. It’s not easy to recover if one
misses the fairway.”
Jyoti Randhawa had a flurry of birdies on the front-nine to
make the turn at five-under. He landed it within four feet on the first to pick
up his first birdie. Randhawa then chipped-in on the third and sank 10-feet
birdie putts on the fifth and sixth holes. The former Asia no. 1 who hails from
the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, added a birdie and a bogey on the
back-nine.
“I had a top-5 on the Asian Tour recently. I’ve had some
momentum going since that performance. I’ve been swinging well. However, my
form has been a little patchy and I need to fire lower scores. I hit a lot of
good shots today and putted well. It’s great to be back in Kolkata since this
is the city where I played my first competitive event as a sub-junior,” said Randhawa.
Abhinav Lohan of Faridabad
and Lucknow ’s
Sanjay Kumar occupy joint third place at four-under-68. Lohan’s bogey-free 68
featured an eagle and two birdies. His eagle on the fourth came as a result of
a 40-feet conversion from the fringe. Sanjay, on the other hand, recorded five
birdies and a bogey. He landed his approach shots within five feet on the
first, 12th and 17th.
Rookies Khalin Joshi of Bangalore and Angad Cheema of Panchkula are a
further shot behind in tied fifth place.
Rahil Gangjee finished round one in tied seventh place at
two-under-70. He is currently the highest-placed among the professionals from
Kolkata.
Gaganjeet Bhullar is in tied 13th position at
one-under-71.
Rolex Rankings leader Rashid Khan lies tied 23rd at
even-par-72.
Defending champion SSP Chowrasia is placed tied 50th at
three-over-75. His opening round featured a birdie and two double-bogeys.
Press release
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