Lahiri keeps two-shot lead in Selangor Masters; Chowrasia 3rd

Petaling Jaya (Malaysia): India's Anirban Lahiri playing sedately for the first 13 holes at even par and birdied three of his last five holes to stay in a two-shot lead at the midway stage of the weather-disrupted Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters gold tournament here on Friday.

Lahiri holed a 20-feet birdie putt on the last hole for a three-under-par 68 to emerge as the second round leader on 10-under-par 132 in the RM 1.3 million (approximately USD 410,000) Asian Tour event. Fellow Indian SSP Chowrasia brought home a card of one-under 71 and was lying third at six-under 136 with Tour rookie Cameron Smith of Australia shooting 66 to be in second spot at the Seri Selangor Golf Club.

With weather playing havoc with the schedule, play was called off due to darkness after the round was delayed for approximately one hour and 30 minutes in the afternoon due to inclement conditions. 

A total of 21 players will resume their rounds at 7.30am on Saturday. Among other Indians, Jyoti Randhawa (69) moved to tied 17th at two-under, while Arjun Atwal (69) playing in Asia after a long time made amends for his first round of 74 with a 69 and was tied 38th alongside Rashid Khan (70) at one-over 143. Chiragh Kumar (70-74) was tied 54th while Digvijay Singh (72-74), Sujjan Singh (76-72), Manav Jaini (73-75) and Rahil Gangjee (73-75) were all tied at 90th and looked certain to miss the cut as was Himmat Rai (77-74).

Lahiri, ranked second on the Order of Merit, was even-par through 13 holes but steadied ship to put himself in prime position to claim his fifth Asian Tour win and second title this year. "I was overthinking today and had 100 things going on in my mind. But on the seventh hole, we were held up a little bit by the group in front and that gave me the opportunity to clear my head," said the 27-year-old Lahiri.

"I started talking to my caddie about inane things and when we were ready to play again, it cleared my head. So that's what I will need to do the next time I overthink on the golf course," he smiled.

Lahiri keeps two-shot lead in Selangor Masters; Chowrasia 3rd Petaling Jaya (Malaysia), Sep 19 (PTI) India's Anirban Lahiri playing sedately for the first 13 holes at even par and birdied three of his last five holes to stay in a two-shot lead at the midway stage of the weather-disrupted Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters gold tournament here today.

Lahiri holed a 20-feet birdie putt on the last hole for a three-under-par 68 to emerge as the second round leader on 10-under-par 132 in the RM 1.3 million (approximately USD 410,000) Asian Tour event. Fellow Indian SSP Chowrasia brought home a card of one-under 71 and was lying third at six-under 136 with Tour rookie Cameron Smith of Australia shooting 66 to be in second spot at the Seri Selangor Golf Club.

With weather playing havoc with the schedule, play was called off due to darkness after the round was delayed for approximately one hour and 30 minutes in the afternoon due to inclement conditions. A total of 21 players will resume their rounds at 7.30am on Saturday.

Among other Indians, Jyoti Randhawa (69) moved to tied 17th at two-under, while Arjun Atwal (69) playing in Asia after a long time made amends for his first round of 74 with a 69 and was tied 38th alongside Rashid Khan (70) at one-over 143. Chiragh Kumar (70-74) was tied 54th while Digvijay Singh (72-74), Sujjan Singh (76-72), Manav Jaini (73-75) and Rahil Gangjee (73-75) were all tied at 90th and looked certain to miss the cut as was Himmat Rai (77-74).

Lahiri, ranked second on the Order of Merit, was even-par through 13 holes but steadied ship to put himself in prime position to claim his fifth Asian Tour win and second title this year. "I was overthinking today and had 100 things going on in my mind.

But on the seventh hole, we were held up a little bit by the group in front and that gave me the opportunity to clear my head," said the 27-year-old Lahiri.
"I started talking to my caddie about inane things and when we were ready to play again, it cleared my head. So that's what I will need to do the next time I overthink on the golf course," he smiled.