Lahiri on the up as Cam Davis wins amid top-order drama

By Rahul Banerji

Three birdies and a back-nine eagle helped Anirban Lahiri climb 18 places into a mid-pack tie at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit on Sunday.

Trailing almost at the bottom of the field, the Olympics-bound Lahiri put in a late surge that saw him recover to tied 52^nd on a low-scoring week at the Detroit Golf Club.

The eagle was a standout, coming on the par-5, 546-yard 14^th where Lahiri knocked his second shot over water on to the green and converted a 15-footer to go 4-under for the day and 7-under overall.

Lahiri is now on 353 FedEx Cup points and according to Dubai-based golf writer Joy Chakravarty, has done enough to secure his status on the PGA Tour for 2022 as well.

The 34-year-old, bound for his second Olympics, is currently 119^th in the FedEx Cup standings and is likely to miss a critical couple of weeks on the PGA Tour thanks to his decision to play the Tokyo Games.

Lahiri finished on 7-under par 281 (71-69-73-68), 11 shots shy of the leaders.

Not my best golf today @RocketClassic here in #Detroit but a big thank you to the #desi Indian 🇮🇳 community who came out to cheer for me. Will do my best to go low tomorrow #currypower

— Anirban Lahiri (@anirbangolf) July 3, 2021

Top drama

All the drama was reserved for the top of the order that saw a second play-off in a row after the Travellers Championship last week where Harris English needed eight knockout holes to get past Kramer Hickok.

This time it was Australian Cam Davis who prevailed on the fifth play-off hole over Troy Merrit after missing four putts to win before the decider.

The towering Davis (68-68-67-67), one of the tallest players on the circuit, recorded his maiden PGA Tour title in his 67^th start to become the seventh first-time winner of the season.

The others include Jason Kokrak, Carlos Ortiz, Joel Dahmen, Sam Burns, K.H. Lee and Garrick Higgo.

Davis’s previous big win was the 2017 Australian Open, where he got the better of Jason Day and Jordan Spieth among others.

“I hit some good putts, I hit some not-so-great putts,” Davis said later.

“But I had a lot of opportunities and I guess that was eventually what got it over the line for me, good solid quality shots in important situations.

“I’m really proud of that and that’s a testament to some of the hard work we’ve put in.”

Also read: Lahiri aims to make a medal difference for India at Tokyo