Anirban Lahiri, hoping for a solid start to his final European Tour event of the year, got off to a very modest start in the first round of the DP World Tour Championships with a one-over 73. Lahiri, the only rookie to have won two events this year at the Malaysian Open and the Hero Indian Open, also admitted he missed his regular caddie, Rajiv Kumar, who could not make it because of Visa issues and Lahiri had to make do with a local player on the bag.
He is seven shots behind the leaders. “I missed Rajiv on the bag and that did affect a bit,” Lahiri, who is making his debut in the DP World Tour Championships, said. Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer, Andy Sullivan and Marcus Fraser, all shot six-under 66 to get off to a bright start on the Greg Norman layout, Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Lahiri, who came back after a week’s rest, having skipped the BMW Masters in Shanghai last week, said, “I don’t think I played too badly. It was just that some of the shots that I was trying to being creative did not work. Some of the shots that I hit bad were the ones I was trying to three-quarters and punch shots.”
He added, “I had three bad shots and that meant bogeys and I didn’t make as many putts. I missed Rajiv on the bag. A couple of mistakes I made [were because] I wasn’t able to decide able to commit to a shot because I wasn’t sure. Like on fourth par-3 and then back on 15th. Indecision, two bad swings, two bogeys and suddenly you are not scoring. On 17th, I was trying too hard.
“I did make birdies, but each time I gave them away with bogeys in the next 2-3 holes. I am disappointed for sure, because I wanted to make a decent start, but I will now try to make a comeback tomorrow. There is more golf to play.”
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