July 19th 2012, Lancashire, England: Indian prospect Anirban Lahiri enjoyed a memorable debut at The Open Championship with a bogey-free 68 to lie four shots behind leader Adam Scott of Australia after the first round on Thursday.
The 25-year-old credited a hot putter for his superb start at Royal Lytham and St Annes, holing several long efforts to keep the bogeys off his card in the year’s third Major. Lahiri, a two-time Asian Tour winner, got off to a flying start with a five-foot birdie and then rattled in a 25-footer on the 13th hole.
“It’s a dream start for a first Open. Bogey free round with a 68, I’ll take that any day. I was really nervous out there on the first tee. But I hit probably the best shot of the day to five feet and made the putt,” said Lahiri, who ended the day in tied 14th place.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Every time I hit it into a bad position, my putter helped me out. It saved me a lot of shots as I holed at least three or four shots outside of 20 feet. That’s what you need on a course like this to keep your round together. It’s not easy to make a whole bunch of birdies. On the back nine, I hit it good. I could have made one or two more but I’ll take it.”
With a late 4pm tee time, Lahiri spent his morning watching the early action and learned a few tricks which he said helped him put together a solid start.
“My caddie told me to watch some of the Open and get a feel of how things are reacting. It can help you save some shots if you find some players repeating a pattern on a certain hole. It helped me out today,” said Lahiri, who won the SAIL-SBI Open earlier this year.
“I saw Tiger hit some inspiring chips. He hit a great chip on the fifth hole and I had a similar shot on the third and I imagined it and hit a great chip as well.”
With his father in the small gallery following his group, Lahiri struggled off the tee on the front nine and hit only one fairway. He scrambled superbly but knows he must be sharper off the tee in the second round to keep his magical run going.
“I’m feeling good about my game. Even though I missed a few fairways, I recovered and didn’t make any crazy mistakes which you can do on this course. I hit it badly off the tee. I think I found one fairway on the front nine but hit the last four coming in. It was a struggle. When I got to the tee, it was a little warm and half an hour later, it golf cooler. Suddenly I wasn’t timing it. I’m happy I managed to pull it back and keep myself in it. It was a big grind,” said Lahiri, who outscored countryman Jeev Milkha Singh by two shots.
India’s Jeev Milkha Singh was kicking himself after allowing a flying start end with a level par 70 in the first round of The Open Championship on Thursday.
Singh, who won the Scottish Open in a play-off on Sunday, was on top of the leaderboard at three-under-par through 11 holes at a benign Royal Lytham and St Annes but dropped three shots over the next two holes.
The two-time Asian Tour number one bounced back with a birdie on 14 but dropped another shot on 17 after finding thick rough with a wayward tee shot.
Still, the Indian star was pleased with his effort, considering he only played six holes in practice after gaining a last-minute ticket into The Open from his Scottish success.
“I played really well the first 11 holes. I think the 13th hole was the hole that got me. I hit a bad shot and I think I got greedy with it. When you hit it in the rough you need to take your medicine and move on. I made a double there but came back with a birdie on the next and made some good pars coming in.
“I think I've just got to stay patient. I'm happy. I've come away with a 70. I thought I could have done much better. But it's alright and I look forward to the next three days.”
Singh had only a brief look at Royal Lytham and St Annes on Tuesday and then spent several hours at the range on Wednesday. He said he relied on his long-time caddie, Janet Squire, to map out his game plan.
“I take it in a way that if you play a lot of practice rounds, you see a lot of trouble. So you might as well not see it, you might as well just tee it up straight and see the good and go for it. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. I'm still happy. I think it worked for me, and I'm going to do the same most of the time,” said the 40-year-old Indian.
“I like to play the golf course blind. I think that's why I paid my dues on No. 13, but that's alright. It could have gone my way, and it couldn't have, too, but that's all right. That's the way I like playing coming into a tournament. I think mentally I was a little tired so I just wanted to take it easy.
“I rely quite a bit on her (Janet), because she's walked the course a few times and I just ask her where to go and just look at the yardage book and fire away.”
Singh, whose best finish in a Major was tied ninth in the 2008 PGA Championship, started brilliantly with a 25-foot birdie conversion on the first hole before holing another long effort on the fourth. He snared three more birdies and dropped bogeys on the seventh and 17th holes and a double on 13 where he took two shots out of a greenside bunker.
“I saved a lot of good pars, especially the last hole. Leaves a good taste in the mouth. I think lunch is going to taste good,” he said.
