Lahiri endures tough day in weather-hit Selangor Masters

Petaling Jaya: The Seri Selangor Golf Club bared its fangs on a weather-disrupted day but Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri managed to turn in a creditable even-par 71 to remain inside the cutline during the yet-to-be-completed second round of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters golf tournament here on Thursday.

On a day when a major chunk of players could not complete their second rounds after play was suspended for two hours due to a lightning storm in the early afternoon, Lahiri was the lone Indian to be well above the projected cut for weekend action. His total stood at a decent two-under 140, earning him a share of the sixth spot before the proceedings were suspended due to fading light. The Indian endured a rollercoaster day after playing out a flawless front nine. He stumbled a bit at the start of the back nine but got his act together towards the closing stages to avoid an over-par finish. His card was studded with three birdies against an equal number of bogeys.“It`s a tough course. You just have to find your way around it. It`s my third year here and I`ve got a bit of knowledge now and it`s probably helping me a bit. The thing on this course is that it`s very easy to drop shots. No matter how good you play, you`ll drop shots. It`s about keeping your head and minimising the damage. There are a few holes where you can take advantage. I am satisfied. I`m looking forward to the weekend,” Lahiri said. His first and only birdie of the front nine came on the fifth hole, the one on which he pulled off an eagle yesterday. One-under at the turn, Lahiri went haywire for a while as he dropped strokes on the 11th, 13th and 14th holes before making amends with birdies on the 15th and 17th.“I`m focussing better. Things seem to be on an upward curve. I made a few swing changes and I was trying to get my head around playing with it. I kind of refined it now but I found a better way to play. I`m handling myself better on the course and my short game has also improved.” “You just have to play as many good holes as you can. When you play a bad hole, you just have to write it off and not carry it forward. If you carry baggage on this course, you`ll drop more shots. The one who is going to keep his cool is going to win,” he said. Among other Indians, Rahil Gangjee (75) and Gaurav Singh (72) were just above the projected cut with totals of 146 and 147 respectively but could easily miss out depending on how others finish tomorrow morning. Indians crowded the lower half of the leaderboard but most of them were yet to finish their rounds. The most prominent among them was 10th tee starter Gaganjeet Bhullar, who was four-over at the 15th hole itself. Another back-nine starter Firoz Ali was even-par at the 12th hole. Veteran Gaurav Ghei was all but out of contention after turning in a horrendous 79 which left him 10-over overall. Others who are almost certain to fall by the wayside are Naman Dawar (77), Digvijay Singh (79), Mandeo Pathania (81), Himmat Rai and C Muniyappa although the latter two are yet to complete their respective rounds. Amandeep Johl, meanwhile, retired midway through the proceedings. PTI