Lahiri leads at Selangor Masters

Edited by Anand Datla

Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, September 19: Anirban Lahiri holed a 20 feet birdie putt on the last hole for a three-under-par 68 to hold a commanding five-shot lead in the on-going second round of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on Friday.

The Indian star, currently ranked second on the Order of Merit, extended his overnight lead with a 10-under-par 132 total after sinking four birdies against one bogey at the Seri Selangor Golf Club.

Australia’s Jake Higginbottom produced a flawless 65 which included an outward 31 to share third place with Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat, who returned with a 69 at the RM1.3 million (approximately US$410,000) Asian Tour event.

Current Asian Tour number one David Lipsky of the United States battled to a 66 following an opening 72 to share sixth place with local hope Shaaban Hussin (70) and Englishman Simon Griffiths (68).

An in-form Lahiri, who is chasing for a fifth Asian Tour victory and his second this year, was even-par through 13 holes but steadied ship when he birdied three out of his closing five holes.

“I was overthinking today and had 100 things going on in my mind. But on the seventh hole, we were held up a little bit by the group in front and that gave me the opportunity to clear my head.

“I started talking to my caddie about inane things and when we were ready to play again, it cleared my head. So that’s what I will need to do the next time I overthink on the golf course,” said the 27-year-old Lahiri.

Finishing second in this event last year has provided Lahiri with the impetus to go one better. “When you play well, when you come back to the course, you feel confident. When I got in here on Tuesday, I had good memories from last year. When I went out there, I had that in mind and I can play well on the golf course.”

Chapchai registered three birdies against one bogey to put himself in the title mix. The big-hitting Thai is a three-time Asian Tour winner but not since setting the world 72-hole scoring record of 32-under-par 256 when he won the 2009 SAIL Open in India.

“Yeah I’m very happy. I’m feeling very good with my game at the moment. I don’t know why but my game from tee-to-green has been good since Switzerland. I feel very comfortable with my game,” said the 31-year-old Chapchai.

“I’m feeling very hungry for a win. I don’t know why I haven’t won for such a long time. I might need a bit of luck to win again. Overall my game is still good so I might pull through this week. But we have to see how Anirban plays because he is on form at the moment.”

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Republished with permission from the Asian Tour