May 05, 2018: Quail Hollow is an acknowledged test of golfing skills and the Wells Fargo Championship is turning out to be another layer of evidence buttressing the legend of this golf course. At 1.6 strokes over par, it is proving to be a gut sapping test, second only to PGA National that averaged 2.3 over par.
With two more rounds to go, Peter Malnati is running the table at 7 under par. World No.4 Jason Day and rookie Aaron Wise are trailing by a shot. Paul Casey, who admits to enjoying the challenge, and Charl Schwartzel are lying two behind the leader.
“The conditions were still very, very tough,” Casey said. “I like the challenge.”
The slice left everyone worse than 3 over par, licking their wounds and packing their bags. Rory McIlroy stumbled to a 76, but a first round 68 helped the Northern Irishman stay over for the weekend at +2. Tiger Woods made his only birdie of the round on the 9th, his final hole, to secure his presence at the same spot as McIlroy.
“I have to go work on it, fix it, and try to get a little more hit in my stroke,” said Woods
Hideki Matsuyama sneaked in on the edge of the knife, producing a spectacular recovery. The Japanese star posted a 68 on Friday, to come back from a bruising 77 in the first round.
Anirban Lahiri left Charlotte with more questions than answers. The Indian has been working extra hard in recent weeks to rediscover his world class touch. A change in clubs and recent struggles with consistency are taking Anirban through the toughest stretch of his career.
It will take all of his mental resilience and fortitude to keep faith in his considerable repertoire of sharp skills and tight technique. In the moment though, Anirban left Wells Fargo nursing some more wounds. The Indian is now ranked 97 and the result this week could slip him outside the top 100 for the first time since 2014.
Anirban shot 76 and 74 in the two rounds and despite a battling end to the tournament, 8-over 150 was far too high for this weekend. The silver lining though was that Anirban grit his teeth and made nine straight pars on his way out of the club.
With his score already five over at the start of the day, Anirban needed to stay as close to par as possible to harbour any chances of extending his stay.
At the par-3 13th hole, his fourth on the day, Anirban overshot the green and worked his way back from 16 yards beyond the table. The greens were mean and racy, making ball control an enormous task. He made double bogey.
Anirban clawed his way back with back to back birdies on the next two holes, but more pain ensured soon after. At the 17th, another par-3, Anirban got wet and took another double bogey squarely on his chin. Another dip in the water followed on the 18th and Anirban made the turn at 8-over.
Even though he returned to the clubhouse with no further incident, it was far from enough to give him any immediate cheer. But when the dust settles and the scent of the green grass at TPC Sawgrass hits his nostrils, Anirban should draw enough inspiration to produce a memorable week in the Players Championship, starting next Thursday.
