Sports News | Lahiri 44th in First Round at Phoenix Open
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri made a strong comeback after a sedate start as he was one-under 70 in the opening round of the USD 8.2 million Waste Management Phoenix Open here.
Scottsdale (US), Feb 11 (PTI) Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri made a strong comeback after a sedate start as he was one-under 70 in the opening round of the USD 8.2 million Waste Management Phoenix Open here.
Lahiri's 70 placed him T-44 in the unfinished first round, which was suspended due to darkness.
Lahiri, starting from 10th, birdied the 13th from just over 10 feet and then dropped a shot on 16th. He turned in one-under following a birdie on 18th with a nine-foot birdie putt.
On his second nine, Lahiri took a drop in left rough and then missed a 10-footer for par on Par-4 first.
On the Par-5 third, Lahiri reached the green in two and had a 21-footer for an eagle. He managed a tap-in birdie and finished the day with six straight pars for 70.
Indian-American Sahith Theegala, who has often expressed a desire to play in India, was in stunning form as he was 7-under through 16 holes after starting from the 10th.
Theegala, a much decorated collegiate golfer, faces a clutch 16-footer for par on 8th, his 17th hole when he returns on the second day.
Playing on a sponsor's exemption, Theegala is the provisional leader at 7-under, as Korea's KH Lee fired a super 6-under 65 for the first round clubhouse lead.
Theegala was thrilled to be there in the first place as a sponsor's exemption.
"I was obviously really excited because I knew the history of the tournament and obviously super strong field, probably the strongest field I played in so far this year, and I just figured it was like another free roll opportunity, might as well take advantage of it and obviously super thankful that I got in,” Theegala said.
Holder Brooks Koepka is amongst those who opened with a 66 while World No. 1 Jon Rahm and Olympic Games gold medallist Xander Schauffele shot 67s.
Two-time WM Phoenix Open champion and FedExCup points leader Hideki Matsuyama carded a 68 despite making three successive bogeys early on.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)