×

Top Links:

Get A Golf Handicap

UK Golf Guide

Golfshake Top 100s

Find Golf Travel Deals

Golf Competitions

Search

Community Forum

Course:

Tee Times | Search | Reviews

News:

Gear | Tour | Industry Insider

Tuition:

Video Library | Tuition Sections

Community:

Join | Log In | Help | Useful Links

×

Lahiri claims Masters spot following win on home soil

By: Golf Shake | Mon 23 Feb 2015


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements 


The home fans got what they wanted - a local winner of the Hero Indian Open. However, it was not the one they expected at the start of the day.

SSP Chawrasia began the final round on 12 under par and had a two-shot lead. In 54 holes he had only dropped a solitary shot and appeared to be in complete control of the tournament. But after three calm days in Delhi, the wind blew hard and many of those on the leaderboard saw their chances blown away with it.

Chawrasia dropped a shot at the third and a double-bogey at the fourth had the alarm bells ringing. At that point, it looked like his nearest challenger was going to be Marcus Fraser, of Australia, who reached the turn in one under par, four better than Chawrasia.

Hero Indian Open

But Fraser dropped two shots at the 13th to end his chance of victory. In the meantime, Anirban Lahiri, winner of the recent Malaysian Open, reached the turn in two under par, playing superbly in the difficult conditions. He had started the day seven shots behind Chawrasia and came home in level par for a 69 that moved him to seven under par, setting the target for his fellow countryman.

Chawrasia dropped shots at the 12th and 14th, but a birdie at the 15th took him back into a one-shot lead. Another shot went at the 16th and he was unable to record the birdie at the par-five 18th that would have given him a title he desperately wanted to win. His final round of 76 left him tied with Lahiri.

The first hole of the sudden-death playoff was the 18th. Lahiri birdied the hole and Chawrasia, who had led from day one, conceded after hitting his tee shot into the trees. It was a bitter anti-climax for the veteran Indian.

Lahiri, however, was thrilled, all the more so because he is now in the field for The Masters.
Sweden's Joakim Lagergren, Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, Sri Lanka's Mithun Perera and Fraser all finished on six under, with Perera the only player to birdie the par five 18th.

Siddikur Rahman, of Bangladesh, began the day two off the lead on ten under and led by one after five straight pars at the start of his round, but an inward nine of 39 cost him dearly.

Just four months ago, Lahiri was at he European Tour Qualifying School. Now he has climbed into the top 35 of the world rankings.

“I’m shocked," he said. "I really didn’t think that I will be in this position considering the way S.S.P. and Siddikur have been playing. I thought all of us were playing for third. This is the toughest I’ve seen Delhi Golf Club play. It was very windy and it was not the usual wind when we come here. That’s the only reason why I had a chance today.

“My heart goes out to SSP. and I really hope that he gets his European Tour card this year. I didn’t know what was going on until reached the ninth green. I was walking up and my caddy said, 'We have a chance'. I asked him what he was talking about and he replied that SSP was having a bad round. That’s when I looked at the leaderboard and I was one shot behind.

“At the start of the week, I knew that if I put in a good performance it would pretty much secure my place in The Masters. I didn’t think I would win after the last three days of golf. It is fantastic. Now the whole world is opened to me. I’m really excited. This is what dreams are made of.”

Image Credit - Golf Channel Twitter Page


Be part of the action with a selection of unique golf tournament experiences, from playing in a pro-am with the stars to watching the action at golf’s most illustrious events. Whether it’s the Masters or The Open, The Ryder Cup or WM Phoenix Open, build your own bespoke package with the experts at Golfbreaks.com.


What do you think? post your thoughts and feedback on the Golfshake Forum: https://forum.golfshake.com/


Tags: Anirban Lahiri



Scroll to top