Lahiri makes modest start in Hawaii, in T-72 spot after Round 1

Starting on the back nine, Lahiri began his seventh year on the PGA Tour, with two birdies on 12th and 18th and one bogey in between on 16th.

Published : Jan 15, 2021 22:01 IST

Lahiri: It was mostly misses on speed and some were a little firm through the break and a couple were short on the line, so it was frustrating not to take advantage of the holes that I played well.
Lahiri: It was mostly misses on speed and some were a little firm through the break and a couple were short on the line, so it was frustrating not to take advantage of the holes that I played well.
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Lahiri: It was mostly misses on speed and some were a little firm through the break and a couple were short on the line, so it was frustrating not to take advantage of the holes that I played well.

India's ace golfer Anirban Lahiri started the new year with a modest one-under 69 to be placed tied 72nd after the first round of the Sony Open here.

Starting on the back nine, Lahiri began his seventh year on the PGA Tour, with two birdies on 12th and 18th and one bogey in between on 16th.

He missed a lot of birdie chances throughout the day and on his second nine, his hitting was also not as good as expected. He bogeyed the first and then went through a series of pars before a birdie on 18th brought a hint of smile of his face.

The 22-year-old Chilean Joaquin Niemann holed a 50-foot eagle to get a share of lead at eight-under 62 and is tied for the top place with Jason Kokrak and Peter Malnati at the end of the first round. Six players including Si Woo Kim were tied for fourth at six-under.

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"I was quite disappointed with my round as I played well and gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdies but I just did not make many putts. It was mostly misses on speed and some were a little firm through the break and a couple were short on the line, so it was frustrating not to take advantage of the holes that I played well," Lahiri said.

"Then on the front nine (Lahiri's second nine) I hit some bad tee shots, one on the first hole another a little later. I just got a little out of sync and lost my rhythm a bit. On the front nine I did well to shoot par eventually because I was out of position a lot and missed a lot of fairways.

"I did manage a couple of good par saves but overall obviously quite disappointed. The golf course played very accessible, lots of birdies to be made and I just didn't give myself enough realistic chances," he added.

The Indian, however, exuded confidence of bouncing back in the next round.

"But I am looking forward and just need to stay calm and put some good swings together and get some momentum and make 2-3-4 birdies in a row and build that through the round. That's going to be my focus for second round," Lahiri said.

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