Lahiri overcomes the conditions on day one at Players Championship

By Rahul Banerji

Anirban Lahiri overcame an off-colour run and tricky conditions at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach to sit on a gritty 2-under-par after 17 holes when darkness halted play on Thursday. He will return to complete a four-foot putt for par on day two.

With swirling winds making life for the field difficult at TPC Sawgrass, Tommy Fleetwood of England and the USA’s Keegan Bradley led the way with 7-under par 65s at the PGA Tour’s flagship event, referred to by some to as the fifth major.

They were a shot ahead of South Korea’s Byeong-hun An and Brian Harman of the USA, with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy a stroke further back. McIlroy carded a bogey-free 67 and shared fifth with Americans Vaughn Taylor and Ryan Moore.

Tiger Woods started well to get to 3-under but bogeyed the last hole to fall to 2-under 70 and in a share of 35th place alongside Lahiri.

Playing in the final group of the afternoon session in challenging conditions, Lahiri was the only one in the 144-man field to not complete his first round. He had three birdies against a lone bogey and will be hoping for better this time having missed the cut at the championship on three past occasions.

Caught napping

“I was watching it in the morning and it looked like you can make so many birdies and when I got out on the front nine, it was like which golf course was I watching,” said Lahiri later.

“It was quite hard. The greens got dry quicker than I thought. I played last out in the afternoon two years ago and I just feel bad for the guys who are going out last tomorrow. It’ll be near impossible on the greens. It was hard but I played good,” said Lahiri, who will need to play 19 holes on day two and has a morning start.

Hanging tough

The gritty Lahiri sank a seven-footer for his opening birdie on the par-5 second hole before dropping his lone shot on the eighth. An easy tap-in on 11 followed by a nine-foot conversion on 15 put him on track for what would be only his second under-par round at TPC Sawgrass.

Lahiri however, knows he still has to make improvements.

“I’m a bit disappointed as I bailed out on a lot of golf shots. I’m working on my swing and there’s a little process of getting the confidence back.

“As the week progresses, I’ll go at more flags and commit to more swings. All in all, I played solid and hit a lot of greens. I’d like to hit it a little closer tomorrow.

“The greens had a lot of moisture yesterday and the day before due the rain and with the winds today, they dried out quickly. It can make the surface a bit bumpy and it was pitch dark which was why I chose to stop.

Better conditions

“I’m going to come back at 9am, hit the putt and then I start my second round at 9.35am. I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow morning as conditions will be a little bit easier but I still need to play well. I need to be focused on that.”

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, playing in the same group as Lahiri, endured a tough day to shoot an 84. He started his day with a birdie on the first hole before enduring a difficult time  at TPC Sawgrass.

Ridhima completes start-to-finish win

In Greater Noida, meanwhile,Ridhima Dilawari became the first multiple winner of 2019 as she completed a start-to-finish win in the sixth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Jaypee Greens on Friday.

The 20-year-old, who has been in great form, shot a third successive sub-par round of 3-under 69 to finish on a merited 10-under 206 to win by a massive 10 shots, the second biggest margin after Tvesa Malik’s 15-shot win in the third leg earlier in the season.

It was also the first time this year that any player had shot three straight rounds in under-par scores on the tour.

Last week’s winner Gaurika  Bishnoi added a second successive 73 to reach 216 and finish second to keep up her momentum.

Amandeep Drall after rounds of 73-75 went 3-under 69 to finish a close third at 217. Amateur Anika Varma was fourth despite a disappointing 77 on the final day.

Fast start

Ridhima, who led by four strokes after two rounds, opened with three birdies in her first four holes before dropping a shot to turn in 2-under 34.

On the back nine she had a birdie and an eagle par-5, her second time this week. Ridhima was to drop two shots late but by then the cushion was a comfortable one.

Gaurika also started with a birdie but her hopes of challenging Ridhima sank with two early bogeys.

Amandeep had four birdies against one bogey in her 69, while Anika had two bogeys and two doubles against just one birdie in her 77.

Neha’s front nine was an eventful card with two birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys against one eagle, which came on the par-4 seventh. Her back nine had two birdies and seven pars. She finished seventh, but is still on top of the Hero Order of Merit with earnings of Rs.5,03,800.

She is followed by Gaurika Bishnoi with Rs.4,72,800. Lying third is Gursimar Badwal, who on Friday ended tied 12th. Gursimar has Rs.4,32,400 and Amandeep Drall with Rs.4,24,000 is fourth. Ridhima Dilawari moves up to fifth with Rs.3,36,400 which includes two winners’ cheques.

Also read: Lahiri recovers to make Florida cut as Fleetwood, Bradley lead