Kuala Lumpur, March 28 (IANS): India’s Anirban Lahiri holed a pressure-packed putt on the last hole of his foursome match with Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman to secure a vital point for Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup Friday.
Describing it as the “putt of the day”, Lahiri is now hoping the hard fought 1-hole victory over Joost Luiten of the Netherlands and Scotsman Stephen Gallacher will ensure Asia maintains the momentum heading into the final day singles where they trail Team Europe by four points.
“That was the putt for the day. Thongchai (Jaidee) told me that Pablo (Larrazabal) had also putted from there and he gave me lots of clarity with the line. I’m glad I pulled it off. I’ve to thank my coach who’s here as we worked really hard on my putting,” said Lahiri, a three-time Asian Tour champion.
The duo’s battle with Luiten and Dubuisson went down to the last hole before Lahiri’s heroics at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in what was the last match on the course. It ended a day of high drama as Asia redeemed themselves after losing all five matches in Thursday’s fourball.
“The day belonged to us. We played really solid from tee to green. It’s nice to get the full point for the team. Both of us were really pumped up after yesterday and I’m sure we’re going to witness more of such performances tomorrow,” said Lahiri.
The European pair gained the early advantage by going 1-up with a birdie on the opening hole in the second day foursome format. They held on to their lead before the Asians rallied back with a birdie on 12 to level.
Another birdie on 13 gave Lahiri and Siddikur the lead as they went 1-up. They were 2-up after Dubuission missed a par putt from three feet but had to endure a tense finish as Europe had the opportunity to halve the match when Luiten brought them back to 1-down with his long par putt on 17.
“It was a great day for us. I really enjoyed my golf. Anirban is one of my best friends on tour and we stayed very positive from the start. We played very good golf and we really deserved to win the match,” said Siddikur.
Like Lahiri, Siddikur has also thrown down the gauntlet, insisting the contest is far from over and there is still everything to play for in the singles.
“If we can play like what we’ve done today, we are in for a good fight tomorrow,” said Siddikur, who will go head-to-head with Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen.
