By Rahul Banerji
Anirban Lahiri fired a final round of 3 under par 68 to seal sole third place at the $2 million International Series England at Close House near Newcastle on Sunday.
The India star though was well behind authoritative winner and Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Andy Ogletree who eased to a seven-shot victory over a classy field that included a generous share of LIV Golf stars.
Ogletree totalled a 16 under 268 (72-66-67-64) ahead of England’s Ryder Cup veteran Ian Poulter whose 9 under 275 was a shot ahead of Lahiri’s total.
The closing 7 under 64s by Ogletree and Poulter were the day’s best cards by at least two shots and also the joint lowest cards of the week.
Sunday’s finish helped Lahiri follow up on his shared runner-up spot at International Series Vietnam and left him smiling. “Very, very pleased,” said the 2015 Asian Tour Order of Merit topper on asiantour.com.
Top round
“I think that was probably the top-three ball-striking round of the year for me, I think I would rate this round better than my Saturday at Bedminster and better than Adelaide.
“Very, very happy with how I swung it. My control of the ball in the air, my distance control everything was spot on. I drove it phenomenally. Three-under is probably the absolute worst score I could have shot today.
“Honestly, if my dad putted for me today, we would have shot a 65!”
At the top, Ogletree chalked up his third International Series victory, following comfortable wins at Qatar and Egypt. The result helped the American consolidate his lead on both the Asian Tour and International Series money lists.
“I don’t think I could hit it much better than I did this week,” said the 25-year-old, who walked away from Newcastle richer by $360,000.
“The greens were super bumpy so it’s hard to tell exactly how my putting was, but I was pleased with how I played and my speed control coming down the stretch today was awesome.
Bumpy greens
“And it was nice to see a few putts go in, so we’re just gonna keep trying to get better every week. My game is in a really good spot against a world-class field, super honoured to play the way I did.”
Ogletree is in line to graduate to the lucrative LIV Golf League next year with a first season-ending promotion/relegation process coming up if he finishes on top of the International Series rankings, which is very much on the cards.
Up next for the Asian Tour on its UK Swing is the $1.5 inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship in Scotland that has drawn the likes of former Masters winner Sergio Garcia and other LIV Golf stars.
Also read: Two share LIV Greenbrier lead as Lahiri’s Crushers make a run
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