Lahiri opens with steady round in Wyndham Championship

By Rahul Banerji

A round of 3-under 67 on the opening day of the $6.2 million Wyndham Championship by Anirban Lahiri gave him a share of 48^th place and a chance to strike for better on the leader-board at Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday.

Currently placed 178^th on the PGA Tour rankings, Lahiri knows he needs to get a move on even as time has started to run out to keep his tour card. He needs to get into the top 125 on the money list – no easy task – to keep his place on the PGA Tour and also qualify for the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs.

Up next right after the Wyndham, last won by an Indian nine years ago in Arjun Atwal, is next week’s Northern Trust championship at Liberty National, the first of the FedEx Cup playoff events.

Result pressure

At Greensboro, Lahiri will have to bring in a significant result in a season that has seen him clock just the one top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico last November.

Koreans Byeong Hun An and Sungjae Im meanwhile each shot 8-under 62s for the round one lead a stroke ahead of four others as the PGA Tour heads into the FedEx Cup playoffs.

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Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat fired a 6-under-par 64 to sit two behind the leaders, making it three Asian golfers in the top 10.

An early birdie and an eagled par-5 gave Lahiri good impetus in his outbound nine holes and while he could not build on that further, he did make sure of a bogey-free round to sit, for the moment at least, on the bubble with the cut forecast to fall at 3-under 67.

Lahiri hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation though at 50 per cent, his driving accuracy left him with work to do to save pars. His putting too was better than it has been for much of the season.

According to the Asian Tour website, Kiradech, the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, hit eight of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation en-route to his 64 which helped him grab a share of seventh place at the Sedgefield Country Club.

Former Wyndham winners were also very much in the mix with Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth all on 6-under 64. Alongside them are first-season winners Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa.

Also read: Atwal ends 3M Open campaign T23, lands JD Classic invite