McLeod Russel: Lahiri triumphs

December 29, 2013: Anirban Lahiri of Bangalore took top honours at the Rs. 1.35 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship after registering an impressive four-shot victory at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) on Sunday. Lahiri came up with a three-under-69 in the final round of the PGTI’s year-ending event to end the week with a total of 17-under-271. Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee finished runner-up at 13-under-275.

Anirban Lahiri (66-71-65-69), the overnight leader by three strokes, had an early hiccup in the final round as he double-bogeyed the second after his second shot reflected off a water sprinkler. The 26-year-old then got into his stride with birdies on the fourth, fifth, ninth, 12th, 16th and 17th to wrap up his 13th professional title in style. Lahiri’s putter was on fire as he sank birdie putts from 15 to 20 feet on the fifth, ninth, 16th and 17th. He also landed his approach within two feet for a tap-in birdie on the 12th. Anirban’s only error on the back-nine was the bogey on the closing 18th.

[highlight] “I’m really delighted with my first win at the RCGC. I’ve been coming here since I was 11-years-old but was never able to win a title before [/highlight]

Lahiri said, “I’m really delighted with my first win at the RCGC. I’ve been coming here since I was 11-years-old but was never able to win a title before. The double-bogey early on made me focus better as it shook me up. I focussed really well thereafter and holed almost everything on the greens. The birdie on the ninth was the turning point of the day as it increased my lead from one shot to three shots since Rahil bogeyed the same hole. The birdie on the 12th was crucial as well as it helped me further expand my lead to five shots.

“The 2013 season has been my most consistent season so far as I won four titles this year. My golf and my physical conditioning improved by leaps and bounds this year. The win today gives me a further boost for the coming season. McLeod Russel has set the benchmark in India as far as domestic events are concerned. It’s a great tournament, very well organized and at par with some of the top events that I have played abroad,” added Lahiri, who took home a cheque worth Rs. 21,39,750.

Rahil Gangjee (70-68-68-69) had an eventful front-nine where he made five birdies and three bogeys. He had a relatively quieter back-nine with two birdies and a bogey. Gangjee was a threat to Lahiri in the initial stages of the round as he made some long putts on the first, second and fifth. However, bogeys on the eighth, ninth and 12th pulled him back and he ended up with a three-under-69 for the day.

Gangjee said, “It looked like I would shoot a six-under when I began the round but I’m glad that I gave it my best and at least shot a three-under. Nonetheless, was great to perform well in front of my home crowd. It was an emotional moment for me as I was missing my father who passed away recently. He used to follow me when I played events at the RCGC.”

Abhinav Lohan of Faridabad and Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar finished tied third at 10-under-278. Jyoti Randhawa was a further shot behind in fifth place.

Delhi’s Rashid Khan earned sixth place at eigh-under-280 and thus ended up in number one position on the Rolex Rankings to emerge as the Rolex Player of the Year for 2013.

Gaganjeet Bhullar and Chikkarangappa of Bangalore were in tied eighth at six-under-282. Chikkarangappa, as a result, claimed second position on the Rolex Rankings and also won the Emerging Player of the Year title.

SSP Chowrasia of Kolkata finished in 17th place with a total score of two-under-286.