McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2013: Lahiri’s super 66 gives him round one lead

Anirban Lahiri hits a 66-stroke round to take the early lead at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2013.

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.