The Open | Was a poor ball-striking day, rues Anirban Lahiri
Indian golfer, Anirban Lahiri has not started off well in the opening round of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie suffering a poor ball-striking day by not being able to shoot a birdie. The 31-year-old has been left with plenty to do in the second round to stay in the competition.
Lahiri’s efforts went in vain due to the tightness in his back which resulted in a mere 2 round practice session earlier in the week. Most of his mistakes were because he kept pushing his shots right which resulted in a couple of unimpressive three-putt bogeys. He was tied for 130th place.
“It was a poor day of ball-striking. I did not give myself a chance of making a birdie today and that hurts. Usually, I miss shots on the left on an off day, but it was different throughout the day. My back started tightening up a little bit post two or holes into the round. Eventually, it got better,” revealed Lahiri.
On the other hand, Shubhankar Sharma was two-over after 14 holes having teed off in the afternoon in his debut Open. American Kevin Kisner took everyone by surprise by topping the leaderboard with a
The defending champion, Jordan Spieth dropped four shots in his last four holes wasting a decent start for a
Lahiri’s day did not start on a good note when he missed a birdie putt on the first hole followed by another miss on the second hole with his chip shot kissing the edge of the cup. He managed to get a par on the third, but what followed afterward was a horrific stretch of 11 holes where he lost his concentration (especially on the 9th and 10th holes).
In spite of this, Lahiri managed to end the day on a good note by scoring a 12-footer on the 17th hole and a brilliant shot from the fairway bunker on the 18th hole. He spoke about having made a birdie on the last hole and his strategy for the next day’s play.
“Making a birdie on the last one would have given me some momentum for tomorrow. The course is not playing easy compared to the morning. The wind is hard on the back nine. I need to be a bit more solid off the tees tomorrow. If I stay on the fairways away from the bunkers, I should be able to make some birdies tomorrow,” claimed Lahiri playing his sixth Open Championship.
