Lahiri takes a big leap, finishes sixth

Fort Worth, May 30

Anirban Lahiri produced a superb front nine in the final round to finish tied sixth at the Dean & Deluca Invitational golf tournament here, registering his first top-10 position of the ongoing season on the PGA Tour. 

The 28-year-old, whose sole top-10 in the Indian Open, a European/Asian Tour event in which he finished second, shot 68 in the final round in Texas to finish with a total of nine-under 271 at the Colonial Country Club. The finish bettered his previous best this season of tied 21st at CIMB Classic in Malaysia, which is PGA Tour’s only stop in Asia. 

Lahiri’s rounds this week were 65-70-68-68. He also moved to 88th on the FedEx Cup table. At the top, Jordan Spieth (65), reminded of his ‘Masters meltdown’ by a fan at the turn, raised the bar on the back nine with six birdies to grab the title, his first in his home state of Texas. He ended with 17-under, three clear of Harris English (68). 

Lahiri kept his word of going all out early in the final round. He had three birdies and no bogeys in his front nine and then added two more on the 10th and 11th. At one stage, he rose to 12-under, he rose to 12-under and was a mere two shots behind the then leader Harris English. 

Lahiri birdied the second, fifth, seventh, 10th and the 11th. Unfortunately, one bad swing on the 15th, which saw him go into the water with the second shot, forced him to take a penalty. He was then faced with a 15-footer for a bogey but he missed that and ended with a double.

Earlier on the 12th, Lahiri lost his rhythm as the group — he played with Patrick Reed and Bryce Molder — was put on the clock. He hit into the greenside bunker on the par-4 12th and also failed to hole his 15-foot par. 

“I played well all day, except for that bad swing on 15th,” admitted Lahiri. “Also, maybe I lost a bit of my rhythm, when we were put on the lock on the 12th hole.” Of his front nine, he said, “The first 11 holes were great. Five birdies till then gave me an outside chance. I holed a few nice putts inside 10 feet but missed another one or two between 15 and 20. But the going was good. Then I fell back (with a bogey on 12th).” 

Commenting on his first top-10 finish since the tied fifth place at the 2015 PGA Championships, Lahiri said: “The game is definitely turning a corner. I am feeling good. Hopefully, I can build on this going further.” Lahiri is also due to tee up at the Memorial next week and then he takes a week off before the US Open at Oakmont. 

Spieth on top

Spieth, who had nine pars on the front nine, shifted gears on the back nine. He had three birdies in a row from the 10th to 12th and again three in a row from the 16th to 18th. He finished with a round of 65 that gave him a comfortable win at 17-under. — PTI