(Reuters) – India’s Anirban Lahiri began his British Open campaign with a solid two-under-par 69 but was left to rue a host of missed opportunities on the opening day at Royal Troon.
The 29-year-old, who played alongside Keegan Bradley of the United States and Spain’s Sergio Garcia, carded three birdies and a bogey over his first seven holes on Thursday but failed to carry the momentum forward after the turn. “I think I played pretty good but left a few opportunities out there on the back nine,” Lahiri said in an Asian Tour statement.
“It was a good day to score, the wind died down. I had a few good looks but didn’t convert. I’m a bit disappointed with not shooting a couple under on the back nine but I’m quite happy with the way I played.” Lahiri, who is making his fourth Open appearance, said his putter let him down.
“I had a lot of looks from 25 feet and a couple from inside 10 feet. Made good strokes but didn’t find the bottom of the cup.
“I found a lot of fairways especially on a lot of the tighter holes and found a lot of greens. That’s a good sign hopefully.
“I focused pretty well. When you’re coming home, you can’t afford to get frustrated. If you do that, you try to push too hard, the course can bite you.
“I was expecting the winds to pick up and with the sunshine all day, I thought the greens would get a little firmer but they didn’t.”
American Phil Mickelson leads the Open after an eight-under-par 63 on the opening day.
(Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Reuters
