Macao Open: Anirban Lahiri lying T4 after first round

October 15, 2015: Anirban Lahiri shot 66 in the first round of the Macao Open, just two shots off the pace set by Thitiphun Chuayprakong. Korean Jeunghun Wang shot 65 to tie for second with Siddikur Rahman. Thitipun plaed some spectacular golf as he snatched the early lead with an impressive 64 at the Macao Golf and Country Club with.

Defending champion Lahiri was in a four way group lying in T4. Scott Hend, Javi Colomo and Brett Munson also scored 66 on the par-71 course.

Anirban shot a couple of birdies to start his round and went bogey free through the course on the first day. Birdies at the 5th, 13th adn 18th helped him sign on a fluent 66.

“I think it was a solid round of golf. I hit it well tee to green and missed about three or four fairways. It was hard. I got away with a couple of pars on those holes, otherwise I stayed pretty solid. I played pretty good today,” said Anirban.

“Having played here a few years, I kind of got my strategies down. I’ve taken out as much stress out of my shots as possible. It’s a bit like Delhi Golf Club. This course gets a bit tight when it gets windy. You have to really know where to hit it. Having played here a few times, you get more comfortable. And obviously when you win you come back to the course and you feel great,” added the confident defending champion.

“I was expecting the greens to be a lot firmer. Some of the chips landed a bit soft and the greens were playing a bit differently. I misread a few putts but the course played pretty even in the afternoon.”

“Last week was a lot of fun. We don’t do enough of that stuff but it’s good to be back here and good to be enjoying my golf. It’s a different mindset. Your strategies are different. When you have a partner, sometimes you’re forced to play aggressively when you might not be comfortable playing that way. That’s one of the major changes for me. I made my decisions without thinking I have to do something or not. In that sense, it’s back to the usual I guess.

Honestly, I can’t complain. Hit a good putt on six, seven, nine, 11 and 12. Very good putt on 15 but they didn’t drop. If I had dropped two or three of those, I won’t have felt too terrible. I’m not feeling bad. I’m happy with how I hit it. Hopefully I can make those six or eight footers through the rest of the week.”

Indian golfers got off to a good start – Chiragh Kumar, Abhijit Chadha and Rahil Gangjee are tied in eighth on the leaderboard after 18 holes.

Kapil Kumar, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Jyoti Randhawa shot 69 while Rashid Khan and SSP Chawrasia settled for a 70. An even 72 left Himmat Rai in T73, very much in danger of missing the cut.

Chikkarangappa, Shiv Kapur and Arjun Atwal shot a disappointing 73 – on a low scoring day that was only enough for T90, leaving them needing a low round on Friday for survival.

Manav Jani slipped outside the top 100 after making 3-over 74 on the opening day. Khalin Joshi and Shubhankar Sharma shot 75 to end the first round in T114.

Angad Cheema was the last of the Indian golfers, in T125 after a dismal 76 on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Thitiphun, who is seeking a first win on the Asian Tour, stormed home in 29 following a brilliant round which included eight birdies at the Macau Golf and Country Club.

Young Korean Jeunghun Wang and Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman shot 65s to trail by one while title holder Anirban Lahiri of India and 2013 champion Scott Hend of Australia were amongst those bunched on 66.

Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who broke into the world’s top-50 for the first time in his career this week, battled to a 68 while countryman Thongchai Jaidee, who along with Lahiri had featured in the Presidents Cup last week, carded a 71. South African Ernie Els carded a disappointing 74.

The day belonged to Thitiphun, who needed only 21 putts to put himself atop the leaderboard.

“Today is a lucky day. I didn’t hit it good with my tee shots but I had a good short game. I could make a lot of birdies. This is a great round for me. I’m happy and feel fantastic with a 29 coming in,” said Thitiphun.

Such was his form with the short stick that he nearly holed out on his last hole, at the ninth, by sending a wedge shot from 91 yards out which found the cup but the ball bounced out. He converted the birdie from 10 feet.

“Last hole, my second shot came back out but I still can make birdie. I have worked a lot with my putting since last year, so it’s working now. The greens are very fast. But I can have a good feel.”