Lahari wins the Maybank Malaysian Open

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements 

ANIRBAN LAHIRI ripped up the script by beating two of Europe's best golfers, overcoming a five-shot deficit to win the Maybank Malaysian Open. In the process he climbed to 35th place in the world rankings and secured himself an invitation to Augusta for The Masters.

The 27-year-old Indian has been knocking on the door for a while and produced a stunning performance over the weekend to beat Bernd Weisberger and Lee Westwood, the defending champion.

Lahiri was nine adrift after 36 holes and got himself into contention thanks to a brilliant third round of 62. While his challengers struggled in difficult conditions during the final round, he produced a 68 that included a sensational 40-foot birdie putt at the 17th - it gave him the lead for the first time and he finished with a par after finding a bunker at the 18th to pip Weisberger,  who finished with a 74.

Weisberger is making a habit of throwing away final-round leads, and he did it again here. He birdied the first two holes to lead by five and looked to be cruising. But a double-bogey seven at the par five fifth, where he found the water, slowed his momentum, and he was never able to recover.

He covered the back nine in two over par and finally missed a birdie attempt from 20 feet on the last green that would have got him into a playoff.

Paul Waring, of England, and Alejandro Canizares, of Spain, finished in a tie for third after rounds of 73 and 74 respectively, but the biggest surprise was Westwood's final round.

Leading after two rounds, he endured a poor weekend and finished with a disappointing 75, which was still good enough to secure him fifth place.

Lahiri, a regular winner on the Asian Tour, was thrilled with his performance. “I was just trying to focus on getting off to a good start. There are a lot of birdie opportunities early in the round and then you have some more towards the end – it’s the middle part of the golf course that’s hard to navigate. Luckily for me I made some good putts early in the round and I knew that if I played consistently and put some pressure on, maybe I would have a chance on the back nine. As it turned out, that’s what happened.
“The 17th was a big boost for me. I missed some good opportunities on 15 and 16, so it was a very important putt and the shot of the day for me."

Westwood was bitterly disappointed, but tried to find some positives. "It’s been a good week, I’ve really enjoyed it. I always enjoy coming to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is a great city and the golf course was very good," he said. "I didn’t quite have my swing where I wanted it to be, but I know what I’ve got to work on and the good points were on the greens. I putted really well all week. A top five is a good defence, but I had a chance to win so I’m disappointed I didn’t.”

Photo Credit - Maybank Malaysian Open Facebook Page