31 October 2019: All eyes are prying on the Sheshan Golf Club, venue of this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions. But in the quiet serenity of the Carribean, the Bermuda Championship makes its debut on the PGA TOUR this week. Scottie Scheffler took the Port Royal Golf Course, a Robert Trent Jones design, literally to pieces with a numbing 9-under 62. Anirban Lahiri is also back in action this week, eager to heal the raw scars from missing three cuts in four events. He did that brilliantly well on Thursday, shooting seven birdies on his way to a feisty 66.
Scheffler needed just 29 strokes for his first nine holes, starting on the tenth tee. He made four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 17th to set up a rousing opening round effort. Even though he finished the day with a bogey on the ninth, his last for the day, he had picked up four more birdies by then. Wes Roach was left chasing the leader after he too conceded a bogey on the ninth hole for a 63. Rob Oppenheim, Bo Hoag and Russell Knox made 64.
Lahiri needs a string of good results to benefit from a characteristic bounce back in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals that helped him retain his card on the PGA TOUR. Since those rousing performances helped Anirban underline his enormous promise, he has once again found a rough patch. A good result this week can help him tide the current and set the tone for a good finish to the wrap-around-season, as well as begin mounting up the order on the OWGR.
At the par-5 second, Lahiri rescued himself from the greenside bunker to make his first birdie of the day. A brilliant tee shot tracking the flag helped him score a second birdie at the next hole, a par-3. The course extracted a penalty though when he found the sand again, this time off the fairway on the fourth hole. The Indian collected another birdie at the 7th hole to make the turn well in command of the situation.
After a birdie on the tenth, his fourth of the day, Lahiri found the greenside bunker at the par-4 eleventh hole. He needed two putts upon extricating the ball from the sand to concede his second bogey of the round.
There would be no further losses though as he made three birdies in five holes on the home stretch to finish the day with a fine flourish.
