Report by Anand Datla
July 05, 2015: Anirban Lahiri produced an up and down 71 in the final round of the Alstom Open de France at Le Golf National, on the outskirts of Paris. The Indian produced a memorable performance, driven largely by a mighty surge over the first nine holes of his final round. Lahiri shot five birdies in six holes from the 4th to turn in 31 shots, pushing his card into under par territory. Unfortunately though, he fell into a pattern that hurt him this week, conceding all he gained on the return stretch to sign on a 71.
After making a 69 in the first round, Lahiri stumbled badly on Friday. He made five bogeys and a double on the 18th to fall outside the top 50 midway through the tournament, with a forgettable 77.
But he has recovered well since then – he made a disciplined 70 in the third round to ensure that he did not slip any further. Even then Lahiri was still languishing in the trail at three over through 54 holes.
After starting the final day with three straight pars, Lahiri swung into action with vengeance. He made a hat-trick of threes from the fourth hole, before adding two more at the 8th and 9th holes to go two under with nine to play.
Incidentally, Lahiri made all his birdies this week on the front nine. Not a single birdie came on the return stretch and when he made four straight pars from the 10th hole, it appeared that he might be happy just to finish without any damage.
But he suffered the first dent of the day, when he made six at the par-5 14th hole. A double bogey at the 15th, just like in the first round, damaged his card by a further two shots.
As a result Anirban slipped back to over par territory, at one over with three holes still to play. Just as he appeared to have steadied his boat with a couple of par finishes at 16 and 17, the 28 year old suffered another jolt.
He ended his tournament with a painful double bogey at the 18th to fall back to three over, exactly where he began his day. It was a difficult ending for Anirban, especially after he nailed five quick birdies early on to nearly break into the top 20.
Eventually though, Anirban was lying in T39, with a host of golfers yet to complete their rounds. Irrespective of where he finishes finally, the 28 year old will be disappointed, having failed to solve the back nine puzzle in Paris.
Note: Lahiri finished in T30 by the end of the round. Headline has been updated subsequently.
Interestingly, he made 12 bordies an eagle and a lone bogey in the 36 holes that he played from the first to the ninth. In stark contrast, he mustered eight bogeys, four double bogeys and could not manage even a single birdie on the back nine.
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