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Having begun his World Golf Championship at San Francisco campaign on a thumping note with an upset win against Ryan Palmer, Indian ace Golfer Anirban Lahiri came within inches of causing a much bigger upset in the second round, before going down to World Number 6 Justin Rose.
Lahiri’s hopes of clinching a win against Augusta Masters runner-up Rose came crashing down, when his opponent pulled up his sleeves in the eighteenth hole, producing two spectacular strokes before birdying the first hole in the play-off to deny the Indian, what would have been a well-deserved win.
Lahiri was in the lead for the better part of the regulation period, barring a few occasions when Rose pulled-up all square.
"It was a disappointing finish after a tight match; I am still in it with one win and one loss. I just need a good day tomorrow (Lahiri goes up against Marc Leishman)”, said Lahiri.
At the end of the day, Lahiri was quite simply undone by some truly inspiring play by Rose. However, the Indian golfer remains unfazed by the loss and is confident of getting his campaign back on the right track when he goes up against Marc Leishman on Saturday (May 2nd).
"There is still the third match and there could a three-way play-off, let's see," added Lahiri. Rose was generous in his praise for Lahiri, whom he called a ‘Great Putter’.
"I put enough pressure on him in the end, but Anirban is a great putter. The first hole I looked like I had it won comfortably, he holed a 30-footer. And then he holed another 40-footer or so. It was going to be a tough match, I knew, from that moment”, said Rose.
Meanwhile, top-seed Rory McIlroy booked his spot in the last 16, after he beat Billy Horschel. McIlroy will face Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama in the next round. However, Augusta Masters Champion Jordan Spieth did not enjoy as much luck as he fell to Lee Westwood in a close encounter. As a consequence, Spieth is far from assured of a place in the last 16.
