Edited by Anand Datla
November 16: Anirban Lahiri of India got off to a solid start at the European Tour Qualifying School Final stage when he fired a five-under-par 65 on Saturday. Ranked second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, Lahiri was bogey-free as he trails the opening day leader Christian Gloet of Denmark by one shot.
With one round down, Lahiri will have to play another 90 holes and stay inside the top-25 and ties to earn an European Tour card. “I played pretty good, solid from the start. I began well but didn’t quite manage to keep the pace up but I’m happy. I think I struck the ball really well so I’ll be looking to do the same over the next five days.
“The second half of the year in Asia we have a very busy schedule and I am missing events back there so I think that shows how committed I am to being here and getting my European Tour card.
“But I feel really good about my game. I’ve played consistently all year including the starts I did have on The European Tour but it’s now all about getting the job done this week so hopefully I can do that.”
“It doesn’t really add any pressure coming in as the highest ranked guy or a favourite,” Lahiri added. “I’m happy that I have managed to rack up quite a few points this year with a couple of wins and a number of good finishes but when you come into an event like this you know there is a lot to play for, there is a lot at stake, so for me it’s about enjoying my golf over the next few days. Obviously I feel I can play well enough to win this week but at the end of the day, I have to get it done.”
Other Asian Tour members in the running to secure a European card include Andrew Dodt (third) of Australia, Jaako Makitalo of Finland (third), Jason Knutzon of the United States (third), Rikard Karlberg of Sweden (17th) and Baek Seuk-hyun of Korea (17th).
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