Lahiri leads the pack

GREATER NOIDA: Jeev Milkha Singh sizzled with a five-under 67 but it was rookie Anirban Lahiri who set the greens ablaze with a flawless seven under 65 to grab the opening round lead in the Rs 80 lakh BILT Open here on Thursday.

Kolkata pro Rahil Gangjee blasted a six-under 66 to grab the second spot after the weather-hit opening round of the PGTI event.

In a field which boasts of stalwarts like Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur, Gaurav Ghei and SSP Chowrasia among others, Lahiri stole the thunder setting a one stroke lead after the end of day’s play with 21 golfers yet to finish their first round.

The 21-year-old Lahiri was off the block with a birdie on the first hole and picked up two more shots at the fifth and seventh to take the turn at three-under.

On resumption, the Bangalore golfer picked up a couple of birdies at the 11th and 12th and after paring the next two holes, fired another birdie brace on the 15th and 16th for a highly satisfying round.

“The 15th hole birdie was the best. It was my longest putt of the day,” Lahiri said.

“The course is playing really well, there are not much roughs. There is not much wind but because of the fog in the morning the visibility was low. I think the fog will play its part in the next three days,” he added.

While Lahiri sizzled in the morning, Rahil Gangjee came up with an illuminating performance in fading lights. Gangjee followed up a birdie-birdie start by picking up one more shot on the 4th to take the turn at three-under. On back nine, he picked up three more birdies on the 12th, 15th and 18th for his blemish-free round.