July 01, 2016: Anirban Lahiri got off with a solid 68 at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. William McGirt separated himself with a brilliant six under 64 that gave him a three shot lead over the field in the World Golf Championships–Bridgestone Invitational. Emiliano Grillo, Jimmy Walker and Jason Day are lying in T2 having shot 67 in the first round. Lahiri is in T5 with Charley Hoffman, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth.
Lahiri was two under very early in the round after he made back to back birdies at the second and third holes. But after four straight pars, he surrendered two quick shots, when he made bogeys at eight and nine. He turned the course in an even 35 strokes.
But the determined Indian golfer fired three more birdies on the return stretch to climb up the order. Anirban made 72% of the greens in regulation, setting the stage for a solid first round. It was impressive considering that only 17 players broke par on Thursday.
McGirt was impressive on his WGC debut, just a month after his maiden PGA TOUR victory at the Memorial Tournament. He ended the day in style, knocking the ball in from 45 feet to save par and keep his sheet clean.
“I fell in love with the place because length is not everything out here,” McGirt said. “You have to drive it in the fairway. You have to drive it in the correct spots in the fairways to be able to attack pins. I love it because you can’t stand up there and just hit it as hard as you want, go find it and hack it on the green. It’s an old, traditional style golf course, which I absolutely love.”
Jason Day wasn’t too pleased despite making 67. “It was just kind of a weird feeling of a day where I kind of made some good pars, kept the momentum going, and all of a sudden I shot 67,” Day said. “I’ve just got to keep grinding until Sunday is over.”
With the Sun out the course is playing fast, making it difficult for the golfers. The second round should give us a better insight into how it might play into the weekend.
