Lahiri plays safe, tied 35th alongside Woods
PONTEVEDRA,FLORIDA: Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri came back to complete his unfinished opening round, that was just one putt and inch short of four feet, to be placed tied 35th with a score of two-under 70 at the Players Championship here. Lahiri is now tied 35th alongside the likes of Tiger Woods and defending champion Webb Simpson.
“After spending almost fiveand-a-half hours working hard, I did not want to take a risk on a four-footer in near darkness, where I could barely see the cup. It was windy and I did not want to take chances and fritter a shot,” said the Indian, who was two-under through 17-and-a-half holes and then completed the round with one quick putt.
Half an hour later he was off for his second round.
VARNER HANDED TWO-STROKE PENALTY
FLORIDA: Harold Varner III was assessed a two-stroke penalty for a bit of do-it-yourself handyman work during the first round at the Players Championship.
A raft of new rules have caused issues on tour this year, but it was an old one that Varner fell foul of at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra.
Players are not allowed to assemble clubs on the course under rule 4.1b(4), which states that one cannot “build a club from parts carried by anyone for the player during the round”.
BHULLAR TIED-3RD IN KENYA OPEN
NAIROBI: Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar followed up his first round of six-under 65 with a second round 70 to lie tied-third after 36 holes of the Magical Kenya Open on Friday. Bhullar trails the leader Louis De Jager (64-66) by five shots. Jack Singh Brar, the first round joint-leader, was lying second with rounds of 64-70.
Sharing the third spot with Bhullar was Justin Harding (70-65). Also moving up was S Chikkarangappa (70-69) and he was tied-12th, though some players were still on the course. Khalin Joshi (72-69) was also safe at tied-33rd. Shubhankar Sharma was outside the cut line after a first round three-over 74.
RIDHIMA COMPLETES START-TO-FINISH WIN
GREATERNOIDA: Ridhima Dilawari became the first multiple winner of the year as she completed a start-to-finish win in the sixth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Jaypee Greens here on Friday.