Anirban Lahiri sizzled on the final day of the Memorial Tournament at Dublin, OH – making a remarkable 65 that included no less than 7 birdies. He missed the prestigious US Open cut as the surge came in late, but he did lock up his PGA Tour card for the coming season. His remarkable outing meant he scaled some new heights, and is on the path of putting India on the Golf World Map.
Here are some stats from his outing:
- He made the day’s lowest score, with a bogey-free 7-under 65, which included birdies on the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 14th and 17th holes.
- He tied American golfer, Rickie Fowler, at 2nd Place, and bagged a sweet $765,600. He finished higher than Golf heavyweights such as Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Jordan Speith and Jason Day.
- He carded a series of consistent improvements with a +2 in Round 1, a -2 in Round 2, a -3 in Round 3, and a -7 in Round 4. One wonders if he could have won the tournament had there been a fifth round, surpassing Jason Dufner’s Total -13.
- He shot up the FedEx Cup standings by an incredible 48 places, from 92nd to 44th, and also moved up the OWGR (Overall World Golf Ranking) to the 62nd spot.
While India’s eyes were glued to the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match, or even the Champions League Finals, Lahiri – who modestly describes himself as, “Golfer, foodie, explorer...” on Instagram – is well on his way to making history and perhaps even breaking into the Top 25 on the PGA Tour.
It is indeed inspring to see Anirban put the horror of TPC Sawgrass (The Players’ Championship) behind, where he destroyed all chances of a good finish by hitting 3 consecutive shots into the water.
The 29-year-old Indian star, a two-time European Tour winner and Asia’s No. 1 in 2015, rolled in long 15-20ft putts and hit impressive approach shots, to finally get back to form after a series of missed cuts, and even a T5 Finish at the Hero Indian Open (at DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon) – a tournament in which he was favourite to win.
This is Lahiri’s best ever performance on American soil, and puts him in a good place to book his place in the 2017 Presidents Cup, scheduled to be held in Jersey City, New Jersey in September.
