August 14, 2014. Fiji: Flying from one end of the world to the other and trying to get used to a 19-hour time difference, Anirban Lahiri shot an opening round of two-over 74 on the first day of the inaugural Fiji International here on Thursday.
Lahiri is tied for 68th and will need a good second round to ensure action on the weekend.
Lahiri, who played and missed the cut at the PGA Championships in Valhalla, Kentucky in United States, had a double bogey on first and later found four birdies including three in a row from ninth to 11th. He also had four bogeys. At one stage Lahiri was four-over after six holes, but recovered well to shoot 74.
He arrived at Natadola Bay Golf Course in Fiji today from Kentucky a day behind schedule because of a 24-hour layover in Los Angeles caused by bad weather.
“The flight was a little bit bumpy. I was hoping to be here the same time yesterday. There were a lot of weather issues in America,” Lahiri said to a Fiji newspaper.
“We ended up missing our connecting flight to Fiji on Monday night. We flew overnight and landed this morning so I am just glad that I am here.”
The 27-year-old from Bangalore joins a world class field that includes Fijian Vijay Singh, who designed the Natadola Bay course, and Nick Price from Zimbabwe.
Lahiri currently leads the Asian Tour Order of Merit and is making his debut on OneAsia this week in the US$1 million Fiji International, which is jointly sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia.
“I was really disappointed not to play four rounds last week. I wasn’t physically 100 percent last week as I was recovering from Chickenpox from about 15 days back from then,” added Lahiri.
The event’s star attraction and designer of the course Fiji’s Vijay Singh fired a one-over-par 73, while Zimbabwean Nick Price carded the same score.
