Anirban Lahiri sails to an emphatic five-stroke victory

Anirban Lahiri receives the trophy from Mr Chetan Meda, Director, Eagleton - The Golf Resort in Bangalore on July 5, 2013

Eagleton – The Golf Resort, Bangalore, July 5, 2013: Anirban Lahiri posted a determined three-under-69 in the final round of the PGTI – Eagleburg Open to sail to an emphatic five-stroke victory at his home course, the Eagleton Golf Resort, near Bangalore. Lahiri totaled 20-under-268 for the tournament. Chikkarangappa S, another local lad from Eagleton, fired a 68 in the final round to finish runner-up with a total score of 15-under-273.

Anirban Lahiri (73-62-64-69), had an eventful start to the day. He birdied the first from 25 feet, dropped bogeys on the next two holes and came back with a birdie on the fourth where he found the par-5 green in two shots. The crowd favourite then consolidated his position with birdies on the sixth, ninth and 10th. Lahiri holed a 15-footer on the ninth and chipped it from the bunker within three feet of the pin on the 10th.

Anirban then had a momentary downslide as he dropped bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes after finding the bunker and missing up and down on both occasions. He finally sealed it with birdies on the 15th and 17th. The 26-year-old converted a 25-footer for his final birdie of the day on the 17th.

“It’s great to win at my home course at last. I started well today but then a bad lie on the second and a wrong club selection on the third tee led to bogeys. I came back well thereafter but got a little complacent in the early stages of the back-nine to drop two more bogeys. I was happy that I managed to close it out with two birdies at the end to ensure a big victory margin,” said Lahiri.

He added, “I made some crucial putts today and pushed myself to perform well through the week. I’ve enjoyed a good run through the last four weeks and would like to keep it going when I play the upcoming international events. I’m also happy for my close friend Chikka for having done so well. I’d like to dedicate this win to the Late Mr. M Ashok Kumar, the former Chairman and Managing Director of Eagleton – The Golf Resort, who passed away recently. He was like a father figure to me and encouraged and supported me for many years.”

Lahiri’s win on Friday was his second in two weeks on the PGTI and lifted him from fifth to third position in the Rolex Rankings. It was also his 12th win as a professional (ninth PGTI win). Mukesh Kumar continues to lead the Rolex Rankings followed by Shamim Khan.

Chikkarangappa S (72-67-66-68) fired a bogey-free 68 to finish second at 15-under-273 to the delight of the home crowd.

Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow shot a 71 in the final round to claim third place at 13-under-275. Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee was a further shot behind in fourth place.

Trishul Chinnappa of Bangalore, the lone amateur to make the cut, bagged the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. Chinnappa finished tied 18th with a total score of one-under-287.

Press release

Lahiri asserts authority on home turf, builds five-stroke lead

Eagleton – The Golf Resort, Bangalore, July 4, 2013: Anirban Lahiri followed up his blistering 62 in round two with an equally impressive eight-under-64 in round three to build a five-stroke lead at the PGTI Eagleburg Open being played at the Eagleton Golf Resort near Bangalore. The local favourite’s total score now reads 17-under-199. Lucknow’s Sanjay Kumar held on to second place with a 68 in round three which moved his overall score to 12-under-204.

Anirban Lahiri (73-62-64) had a terrific start to the day as he landed his approach shots from a distance of about 100 yards to within a couple of feet on both the first and second holes to collect two birdies. Anirban, the overnight leader by one shot, made pars on the next seven holes even as Sanjay Kumar drew level with him at the turn. Lahiri started to pull away from Sanjay thanks to a well-timed 15-feet eagle conversion from the back fringe of the green on the 10th.  

Lahiri then had an outstanding run of six birdies against two bogeys on the last eight holes that helped him consolidate his lead. He landed his approach within five feet for birdie on the 11th and found the par-5 15th green in two shots to set up another birdie. The 26-year-old sank birdie putts from a range of 15 to 20 feet on the 13th, 14th and 17th holes.

“I enjoyed a good start today but Sanjay grabbed more chances on the front-nine and drew level with me on the ninth. I needed some momentum at that stage and the 15-feet eagle putt on the 10th did the trick for me. There was no looking back from there on as I putted much better on the back-nine. Interestingly, I didn’t have a single par on the back-nine. I wasn’t that accurate off the tee today but hit some great approach shots with the wedges,” said Lahiri, looking to win his second title in two weeks.

He added, “I’m glad I finished with birdies on the last two holes as it was important to stay well ahead of Sanjay and Chikkarangappa heading into the last round. I’m delighted to be playing the final round along with my good friend Chikka in the same group. We’ve both spent many years playing together here at Eagleton so it’ll be great fun playing in the same group at our home course once again. However, it will be a tough contest as Chikka knows the course well.”

Sanjay Kumar (69-67-68), hung in there with a 68 on Thursday to hold on to second place. Sanjay, who will celebrate his 42nd birthday during the final round on Friday, made five birdies against a lone bogey in round three.

Kumar, a winner of four professional titles, had an amazing run of five consecutive birdies from the seventh to the 11th hole before he dropped his only bogey of the day on the 12th. He converted birdie putts from a range of six to eight feet from the seventh to the 10th. Sanjay landed his second shot within a foot of the flag for birdie on the 11th.

Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S (72-67-66) fired a 66 on his home course to climb from overnight tied fourth into third place. He made an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys in the third round to take his total score to 11-under-205.

Rahil Gangjee of Kolkata is in fourth place at 10-under-206 while Gurgaon’s Arshpreet Thind occupies fifth place at nine-under-207.

PGTI Press release

Lahiri produces a sizzling 62 to seize the lead

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.”

Gangjee, Thind, Prabagaran in three-way lead in round one

Eagleton – The Golf Resort, Bangalore, July 2, 2013: Rahil Gangjee of Kolkata, Arshpreet Thind of Gurgaon and Sri Lanka’s K Prabagaran fired scores of four-under-68 to share the lead in round one of the PGTI Eagleburg Open being played at Eagleton – The Golf Resort near Bangalore. Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, Lucknow’s Sanjay Kumar, Jaipur-based Vishal Singh and Delhi golfer Kapil Kumar are in tied fourth, one stroke off the lead.

Arshpreet Thind had an ideal start to the tournament as he found the par-5 10th green in two shots and subsequently two-putted for birdie. He then converted a 10-footer for birdie on the 14th. Another birdie followed for Arshpreet on the 15th before his first bogey of the day on the 16th that came as a result of a missed chip-putt. Thind, who so far has two top-10s to his credit in professional golf, sank putts from 25 feet and 15 feet for birdies on the fifth and ninth respectively.  

Thind said, “It was one of my best putting days in recent memory. I made 17 regulations and thereby set up lots of birdie opportunities for myself. I felt I had a good conversion rate with five birdies from 17 regulations. The greens on this course have lot of slopes therefore one needs to land the ball on the right side of the greens in order to score well. I managed to do that today.

“I think my marriage few months back has brought stability to my life which also reflects in my game,” added the 30-year-old Thind, twirling his recently-grown handlebar moustache.

Rahil Gangjee produced a bogey-free 68 to be the joint leader on day one. Playing his first ever competitive round at Eagleton, Gangjee produced a terrific approach shot from 100 yards on the sixth that landed within eight feet of the pin and led to a birdie. He hit the green in two on the par-5 10th to pick up another birdie. The 12th saw Rahil hole a massive 35-feet birdie putt, while on the 14th he converted a downhill curling 12-feet birdie putt.

“I’ve been in good touch recently, having posted a top-5 finish on the PGTI last week. The conditions were easier in the morning as it was not too windy unlike the practice round. I kept the ball in play and hit most of the greens. I was never in a position where I had to struggle for par. I putted well through the day,” said Gangjee.

Prabagaran, a 10th tee starter, had five birdies against a lone bogey. He dropped a bogey on the 11th thanks to a missed chip-putt but negated that with a solid chip-putt for birdie on the 15th. The 32-year-old with two top-10s on the PGTI this year, collected birdies on the second and eighth after landing his shots within three feet on both occasions. Prabagaran also sank a couple of 12-footers for birdies on the fifth and seventh holes.

“I putted well and also hit it close on a few occasions. I’ve played at this course as an amateur and done reasonably well. The experience of playing here in the past helped me today,” said Prabagaran, currently placed 19th on the Rolex Rankings.

Mukesh Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Vishal Singh and Kapil Kumar shot scores of three-under-69 to be placed tied fourth.

Among the Bangalore-based professionals, C Muniyappa was the highest placed in tied eighth as he carded a 70. Abhishek Jha, M Dharma and Chikkarangappa S returned scores of 72 to be placed tied 25th. Anirban Lahiri’s 73 placed him tied 39th.  

The bone-crushing handshake

Besides being one of the strongest-built players on the PGTI, the 6 foot 3 inch tall Arshpreet Thind is also known for his fearsome bone-crushing handshake. Most fellow professionals on the tour think twice before shaking hands with the burly golfer. A handshake with Thind leaves many feeling their bones have been crushed, even though it may be a gentle squeeze for Thind himself.

Press release

Leading professionals for PGTI-Eagleburg Open

Eagleton, Bangalore, June 30, 2013: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and Eagleton – The Golf Resort have announced the PGTI – Eagleburg Open, which will be played at the magnificent Eagleton Golf Resort near Bangalore from July 2 to July 5. The event boasts a prize purse of Rs 30 lakh.

The stellar field at Eagleton will include the likes of Anirban Lahiri and C Muniyappa who will be leading the local challenge as well as India’s other top professionals such as Shamim Khan (Reigning Rolex Rankings champion), Himmat Singh Rai, Digvijay Singh, Chiragh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Rahil Gangjee, Harendra Gupta, Shankar Das, Manav Jaini, Rashid Khan, Abhijit Singh Chadha and Vinod Kumar, to name a few.

The top foreigners in the field include Mithun Perera (Sri Lanka), Kunal Bhasin (Australia) and Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (Bangladesh). The other prominent Bangalore golfers in the fray besides Anirban Lahiri and C Muniyappa are Chikkarangappa S, R Murthy, M Dharma, Abhishek Jha, R Srinivas and Khalin Joshi.

Mr. Chetan Meda, Director, Eagleton – The Golf Resort, said, “This golf event marks the launch of Eagleburg Golf Resort in Mysore, India, in a spectacular setting on the foothills of the famous Chamundi Hills in Mysore. Eagleburg – The Golf Resort is a sprawling 18-hole golf masterpiece designed and developed to be one of the finest courses in India. The property offers a stunning palace golf resort and a spacious residential enclave. This world class property is promoted and developed by ‘Eagleburg India Pvt. Ltd.’, the masterminds behind Eagleton, highly regarded as one of the finest championship courses in India.

“The home advantage and the superb form of Anirban Lahiri and Chikkarangappa will give them an edge in this event.”

Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said, “The PGTI looks forward to returning to the Eagleton Golf Resort, one of the premier championship courses in the country, after a gap of four years. The city of Bangalore has produced many top professionals in recent years and this tournament will see them go head to head with the other top names in the country on their home turf. We thank the Eagleton Golf Resort for their strong support to professional golf through tournaments such as the PGTI – Eagleburg Open.”

The venue for the event, Eagleton – The Golf Resort, situated on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, is home to a USPGA standard course. This picturesque course is spread out over 170 acres and has undulating fairways and huge greens with an excellent drainage system. Over 40,000 trees, lush turf and sophisticated fertilization, irrigation and waste water management contribute to a natural and pleasing biosphere.

Press release