Anirban Lahiri finished one of his most disappointing weeks at a Major with an eight-over-par 79 to conclude his campaign at the Royal Troon gold tournament on Sunday.
Lahiri, who was tied 22nd and was looking at a possible top 10 finish at the midway stage, had a rough weekend, as he shot 76-79 for the final two rounds. It saw the reigning Asian Tour number one finish at 12-over 296, his highest score in the world’s oldest Major. He was tied 68th, a drop of 25 places from his third round.
The 29-year-old Lahiri did not make a single birdie in his final round and had just one in the third round. Lahiri now heads back to the United States to prepare for the PGA Championship in Baltusrol, the year’s final Major.
He will be carrying happy memories from his top five finish from last year, the best finish ever by an Indian golfer in a Major. Thereafter, Lahiri will head to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games where he will be amongst 16 Asian golfers who have qualified for the men’s competition.
Barring Thongchai Jaidee, who was even par for the final day and ended at one-over 285, all other Asian Tour players had a tough time this week.
Thongchai was tied 22nd at the time of writing. Korea’s Soomin Lee, who is fifth on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, shot an 82 as his Major debut also ended on a challenging note.
He totaled 302 and was tied 79th. Scott Hend of Australia, a nine-time winner on the Asian Tour, closed out with a 76 for a 297 total to be tied 72nd while Korea’s K T Kim shot a 73 for a 291 total and was tied 53rd.
