Defending champion Anirban Lahiri begins Macau Open Campaign strongly

Lahiri broke into the top 100 for the first time last year

Defending champion Anirbani Lahiri started strongly in this year’s Macau Open with a five-under 66 to be placed at tied fourth at the Venetian, two shots behind the leader Thailand’s Thitiphun Chuayprakong (64) yesterday.Anirban told the media, “I think it was a solid round of golf. I hit it well tee to green and missed about three or four fairways. It was hard. I got away with a couple of pars on those holes, otherwise I stayed pretty solid. I played pretty good today.” “Having played here a few years, I kind of got my strategies down. I’ve taken out as much stress out of my shots as possible. It’s a bit like Delhi Golf Club. This course gets a bit tight when it gets windy. You have to really know where to hit it. Having played here a few times, you get more comfortable. And obviously when you win you come back to the course and you feel great,” he added.

Meanwhile, the round leader Thitiphun, who is seeking his first win on the Asian Tour, stormed home recording a score of 29, following a brilliant round, which included eight birdies.Such was the Thai golfers form that he nearly landed an eagle at the ninth hole, by sending a wedge shot from 91 yards out, which almost found the hole. He converted the birdie from 10 feet.“Last hole, even when my second shot came back out but I still made a birdie. I have worked a lot on my putting since last year, so it’s working now. The greens are very fast. But I had a good feel.” said Thitiphun.Young Korean Jeunghun Wang and Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman shot 65s to trail by one while title holder Anirban Lahiri and 2013 champion Scott Hend of Australia were tied at 66.Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who broke into the world’s top-50 for the first time in his career this week, battled to a 68 while comptariot Thongchai Jaidee, who along with Lahiri had featured in the Presidents Cup last week, carded a 71 whereas South African Ernie Els started with a disappointing 74.The day belonged to Thitiphun, who needed only 21 putts to reach the top of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, Lahiri won last year’s tournament and is one of the strongest contenders to win it this time as well. This particular tournament helped him break into the top 100 in the Official Golf Rankings for the first time in March 2014, following his back to back victories on the Asian Tour.