Lahiri cards 70 in Round 1, tied-31st

Rio Grande, February 21

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri gave himself a lot of chances but the putts did not fall as he shot a 2-under 70 in the opening round of the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open here.

Lahiri bogeyed the first and birdied the fourth, fifth and 18th holes to be placed tied-31st. Lahiri had 12 straight pars between the sixth and 17th.

The Indian is six shots behind the leader, Kyle Stanley, who shot an 8-under 64 in windy afternoon conditions.

McIlroy grabs two-shot lead

Mexico City: Rory McIlroy started strong in his bid to complete his WGC trophy collection, firing a 6-under 65 for a two-shot lead in the Mexico Championship.

The Northern Ireland star eagled his second hole of the day, the par-5 11th.

He closed with back-to-back birdies to break free atop a crowded leaderboard with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and 2017 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas two shots back on 4-under 67.

It was a further stroke back to South African Louis Oosthuizen, Canadian Corey Conners and Americans Billy Horschel and Bryson DeChambeau.

McIlroy, number one in the world again for the first time since 2015, is coming off a tie for fifth at the Genesis Open — where he shared the 54-hole lead. — Agencies