SOUTHPORT (England): Anirban Lahiri came within a whisker of squeezing into the weekend, before a visit to the bunker on the very last hole, ended his hopes by one shot at the Open here.
Lahiri was hanging by a slender thread at two-over and a total of five-over, which turned out to be the cut line, when he came to the 18th tee at Royal Birkdale.
His drive landed in fairway bunker, from where he ended with a bogey and finished at 73 for a total of six-over and one shot adrift.
On the last hole, Lahiri, the 2015 Asian Tour number one and former winner of Malaysian Championships and Hero Indian Open, opted for a driver where a three-wood may have been better.
A little earlier Shiv Kapur battled to a similar 73, the same as the first round, and missed by one shot.
Jordan Spieth was the only player with two under par rounds as he followed a 65 with his 69 for a total of six- under 134 and Matt Kuchar, who played in the morning, shot 71 to get a total of four-under 136, was second.
Ian Poulter battled hard and compiled an even par 70 for a total of three-under 137, the same as Brooks Koepka (65-72) and they shared fourth place.
Richie Ramsay (68-70) was fifth while Rory McIlroy (71- 68) along with three others was tied sixth. It was a huge jump for McIlroy, who was five-over after first six holes on first day, but then recovered magnificently on back nine of first day and then the second round.
On a day when it was cold, windy and rainy and play was stopped for a 15 minutes in the evening, Lahiri and Kapur, had to work and in the end fell short by a narrow one-shot margin at six-over-par 146.
Despite adverse weather Lahiri’s woes were mostly on account of his putting.
“I looked back at the two days that I played and all I see is I didn’t make a putt. I had two one putts and hit 15 or 14 greens in these conditions. I just did not get the hang of the greens. It is very disappointing because I played so well this week,” Lahiri said.
“I don’t think I’m putting badly but I really can’t come to terms with the surface. It is not an excuse. It is on me and it is a terrible feeling to have. I’ve just not been tuned in to the speeds on the greens. I’ve been terrible on the putting surface and that’s something I need to work on,” he added.
Kapur, making his third appearance at The Open, was disappointed to miss the cut. But he felt he did play well in tough conditions.
“It was brutal out there. First it was the wind then the rain and the wind switched on the back nine. All in all I hung quite tough and played pretty well. I made a couple of bogeys on the back but I fought back. Unfortunately it was one shot too many,” said Kapur. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel