September 18, 2015: If Anirban Lahiri was looking for a test of his stellar sporting character, he has found one at the River Run. The ambitious golfer is chasing a PGA Tour card in the four event Web.com Tour Finals, playing just three of those events. After a top ten finish, Anirban arrived in Charlotte knowing that another good finish could seal his ticket.
Unfortunately though, Anirban had to endure a difficult first round at the River Run Country Club, battling his way to an even 72. Brett Stegmaier flew away into the distance with a brilliant 9-under 63, leaving Lahiri in T71 and needing a good low round on Friday to make the cut.
A birdie at the second hole got the Indian going early on, but the bogeys came thick and fast. He suffered three in a stretch of four holes from the fifth, punctuated by a birdie at the sixth. He made the turn in 37 shots.
Steadying his unruly hand, Anirban sought to remain in control soon as he started his journey home. The 40th ranked Indian made nine straight pars, before ending his day on a positive note.
The birdie at the 18th allowed Anirban to sign off without any residual damage to his card, but that was far from enough. With low scores flying thick and fast, Anirban is just outside the potential cut line.
The Indian will need a low round on Friday to ensure he can remain in competition for the weekend. But he will need significant improvement – a driving accuracy of 50% and a putting average of 1.92 did him in on Thursday.
Though he made two in every three greens in regulation, Anirban’s putter let him down. And though he was driving long, he was clearly struggling for alignment, just as he was at the first of four events last week.
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