Anirban Lahiri gets off to a flying start in Colonial

Anirban Lahiri shot a rousing 65 in the first round of the Dean & Deluca Invitational at the Colonial Country Club

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DEAN DELUCA Invitational - Round One - Anirban Lahiri

Anand Datla

May 27, 2016: Anirban Lahiri got off to a brilliant start at the Dean & Deluca Invitational, shooting himself into a tie for second at the end of the first round at the Colonial course in Fort Worth, Texas. The Indian was just one shot behind Bryce Molder, who shot 64. Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson also made 65 to join Lahiri in the second place after 18 holes. Jordan Spieth was not too far behind after a first round 67.

Molder birdied his last four holes to surge into the lead. “I got some good looks late,” admitted Molder, who like Anirban opened on the tenth hole.
“I may have just been still asleep, it was dark and cloudy. We were laughing they were about to blow the horn for darkness.”

Anirban had a rough beginning to the round, flying into a bunker at the par-5 11th hole. But he rocketed from there to within eight feet and made a comfortable birdie to get his score moving in the right direction.

Another birdie from over 20-feet at the 14th hole helped him add further cushion to his score. Anirban had a miserable bogey at the 15th after missing the fairway twice in a row, adding another at the 17th when he three putted inside twenty feet.

Anirban recovered with a birdie at the 18th to make the turn in 34 strokes. He left a birdie on the first green when he missed from just three feet, but recovered from the bunkers around two and nine to layer his score with more birdies.

“I hit it pretty good all day,” said Lahiri. “I got my focus back after that miss on one and got rolling. The last nine holes we played were ideal for scoring. If you can find enough fairways you can really take advantage.”

“It reminds me of my favorite track back in India, the Delhi Golf Club,” he said. “I haven’t backed up a 65 with even a 69. I’ve had at least one bad round every event,” he said. “I’m going through a bit of a trough right now, but I also know it’s just a mental thing. I’m pushing too hard.”

“It would mean a lot to the country to get a medal out of a game like golf, and probably put that in the forefront or in the spotlight,” added Lahiri about playing the Olympics. “So for me, the Olympics is a very important event, maybe more so than a lot of guys who are going, because of that.”

Meanwhile, we can only hope that Anirban rides on the solid start to enjoy a good week at the Colonial.

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