Golfer Anirban Lahiri has carded a two-under 69 in the 1st round of the Northern Trust Tournament so that he can keep his hopes alive for an extended run in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
The 34-year-old Indian golfer, who qualified for the first playoff, among the three in the 121st spot, needs to reach into the top 70 to have any chance this week. Things were favourable to him though, as he gave a good performance despite the swirly conditions present at the Liberty National Golf Club.
American golfer, Justin Thomas, the FedEx Cup winner in 2017 carded a 63, along with Spanish golfer and World No.1 Jon Rahm and they are joint leaders in the opening round of this tournament. USA’s Harold Varner III was third after carding a 66.
Lahiri jotted down four birdies alongside two bogeys which made him 15th alongside Japanese golfer, Hideki Matsuyama and needs to progress up the table if he has to extend his run as he is projected to be 90th on the FedEx Cup points table.
Anirban has said in his release today that he has played well despite challenging conditions. He further said, “So you just have to do everything good. You have to hit it in the fairway to start, and then the course is going to ask you some questions with your mid and long irons, and you just have to answer them. I did feel like I didn’t putt very well. I had a lot of chances, gave myself a lot of looks. Probably left two, three shots out there, but all in all, I’m satisfied.” He feels the playoffs are like home to him and it’s nice and familiar with a good feeling about his game in the Playoffs.
Lahiri has had a stop-start year, with him contracting COVID-19 and endured some challenges due to his playing category but off late, he has been in good form. The golfer who has been part of the International team two times in the President’s Cup came third at the Barbasol Championships. He also required two late birdies to secure his top 125 spots to return to the FedEx Cup playoffs after missing out on it for two years.
