Anirban Lahiri beats Ryan Palmer 4&2

Report by Anand Datla

April 30, 2015: On a day of upsets at the TPC Harding Park, Anirban Lahiri produced his best golf yet on the PGA Tour to trounce Ryan Palmer 4&2. The Indian got off to a rousing start at the WGC Cadillac Match Play event in San Francisco, raising hopes of a weekend amidst a galaxy of stars. Lahiri is in group six, with his second match on Thursday against Justin Rose. The Englishman lost 3&2 in his first one against Marc Leishman. Rory McIlroy beat Jason Dufner 5&4 while Jordan Spieth beat Mikko Ilonen 4&2 to make a positive start to their campaign.

Lahiri drew ahead at the very first hole, a par-5. The Indian pitched to just five feet from the pin with his third shot and nailed the birdie, where Palmer settled for par.

Lahiri went 2-up at the par-4 fourth hole, where he made his second birdie of the morning. The 23rd ranked Palmer drew one back, when he made his first birdie at the par-5 fifth hole.

Both players made birdie at the sixth hole and reached the eighth with the Indian up by one. Palmer sank his birdie from 25 feet out at the 8th and Indian nearly responded to it when he covered over 70 feet with his third shot. But he was marginally short and the score was even.

Lahiri showed great composure at the ninth, striking a near perfect tee shot, leaving himself ten feet for another birdie. He made no mistake, nailing the second shot for his fourth birdie of the day to go one up again.

Under relentless pressure from the Indian, Palmer buckled, making a bogey at the 10th hole. Lahiri extended his lead by one when he made his fifth birdie of the day at the 13th hole.

The next hole saw Palmer with an opportunity to claw back, but Lahiri produced a little gem that effectively sealed the deal in his favour. Lahiri chipped into the hole from 26 feet to birdie the 14th and match Palmer, retaining his lead of three.

Palmer conceded at the 16th to end the contest, leaving Lahiri exultant about his day’s work.

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