Shubhankar, Lahiri make cut at Fort Worth Invitational
Anirban Lahiri had an off day while Shubhankar Sharma turned in a much-improved show, as both the Indian golfers made the cut at the Fort Worth Invitational at the Colonial here.
Shubhankar, needing a low second round after his 73 on the first day, had a better day on the greens as he shot 68, while Lahiri failed to build on his first day’s 67 and shot 74. Both Indians totalled 1over 141 and made the weekend in tied 60th place as the cut fell on 2-over after winds picked up in the afternoon.
Justin Rose fought hard over the last three holes, which were scrappy, as he added a 6-under 64 to his first round 66 and at 10-under 130, he was one shot in lead over Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (67). Brooks Koepka (63) and Satoshi Kodaira (67) were tied third at 70-under.
Shubhankar, playing earlier in the day, had an eventful front nine as he had three birdies, one par and two bogeys in a six-hole stretch from second to seventh.
He putted better than the first day, but still left a lot of shots out there. He was also somewhat off with his driving.
Sharma said, “The putting was better than first day, but could have been a lot better. I had a 3-putt par on the first, a birdie on the second from 12 feet and I caught a flyer from the rough on the 3rd but made bogey. Then there was bogey on the 5th but had two birdies on sixth and seventh for a 1-under front nine.
“The back nine wasn’t as exciting as the first. I chipped in birdie on the 11th but missed birdie putts on 13, 15, and 17, so it was a day that ought to have been much better. But the good thing is I am into the weekend rounds and hope to improve from here.”
Lahiri, who seemed to have sorted out a few things in his putting was once again found wanting on the short ones, as he missed four inside eight feet and another one from 10 feet.
He started on 10th with a bogey, missing from seven feet and had two more bogeys on 14th, where he missed from just over six feet and another at 15th.
He was 3-over through six holes before he holed a rare 21-footer for his only birdie of the day on first. Two more bogeys followed on fourth and eighth on a disappointing day as he shot 74.
After being 7-under through 15 holes, Rose missed the green at the seventh hole but chipped in from 16 feet for a birdie.
On eighth he again missed the green at the par-3 for a bogey. On his closing hole, the ninth, he hit his tee shot into the rough and just cleared the water with his approach. But he two-putted for a closing par.
Rose had seen birdies, three in a row from 14th, which was his first nine and four on his second nine. Grillo was at 10 under when he rolled in a 28-footer at No. 17, his fourth birdie in his first eight holes.
But his ensuing tee shot went way right into a concrete ditch, and his ball floated with the flowing water before being picked by a fan just before it dropped into a drainage area. After the penalty stroke and drop, Grillo hit into a greenside bunker and bogeyed.
“The back nine wasn’t as exciting as the first. I chipped in birdie on the 11th but missed birdie putts on 13, 15, and 17, so it was a day that ought to have been much better. But the good thing is I am into the weekend rounds and hope to improve from here”