Lahiri misses cut at AT&T Byron Nelson

Anirban Lahiri holes six birdies in the second round but it isn't enough to make the cut for the weekend.

India's Anirban Lahiri. - AP (FILE)

India’s Anirban Lahiri holed six birdies, but it was not enough to hang around for weekend action as he missed the cut by a shot at the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.

Placed precariously at the event where low scoring has been the norm, Lahiri shot 70 each in the first two rounds and despite a 4-under 140 total, he fell short by one shot. It was a day when the winds picked up in the second round, but low scores meant missing birdie chances was going to be costly.

FIRST ROUND REPORT

After missing a bunch of putts in and around 10 feet, Lahiri had a roller coaster of a second round with six birdies, four bogeys and eight pars.

Rough patch

It has been a rough patch for Lahiri, who has missed half the cuts in his 14 starts, which includes two top-10s and a best finish of fifth at the Texas Open. Meanwhile, an in-form American Sam Burns carded a career-best 62 to lead on 127 from second-placed Alex Noren.

South Korea’s K. H. Lee shot back-to-back 7-under 65s for his career-low 36-hole and lies in third place and three behind leader Burns. Burns (65-62) is 17-under, while Noren (65-64) is 15-under and Lee at 14-under.

The weekend awaits in Dallas. ⭐ pic.twitter.com/LMjywwiuWH

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 15, 2021

 

Notable players missing the cut include Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and Brooks Koepka.

The 29-year-old Lee, playing his third season on PGA Tour, put together a seven-birdie round at TPC Craig Ranch on Friday and all his birdies were all from inside of 12 feet. His best this season has been a second place finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The South Korean is pushing hard to become only the fourth Asian winner at the AT&T Byron Nelson, with Shigeki Maruyama (2002), Sangmoon Bae (2013) and Sung Kang (2019) winning the tournament previously. Sung, the defending champion this week as the tournament was cancelled last year due to COVID-19, carded a second round 69 to lie T27 alongside countryman Si Woo Kim (70).

Masters Tournament winner Hideki Matsuyama, playing in his first tournament in a month, carded a 70 to make the weekend play right on the number. First-round co-leaders J. J. Spaun (63-69) and Jordan Spieth (63-70) fell to fifth and T6, respectively.