American golfer hails Indian after losing to him narrowly in World Golf Championship
San Francisco: Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri almost pulled off a second upset in as many days before World No 6 and Masters runner-up Justin Rose produced two great shots to first even the match on the 18th and then birdied the first play-off hole at the WGC Match Play event yesterday.
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India’s Anirban Lahiri during Rd 2 the World Golf Championship in California yesterday. Pic/AFP
World No 35 Lahiri, who beat World No 23 Ryan Palmer in the first match of the round-robin stage, led for almost the entire regulation period, except a couple of times when Rose pulled up to all-square at TPC Harding Park.
The only time Rose pulled ahead was on the 19th when he closed with a birdie as Lahiri parred on the play-off hole. “It was a disappointing finish to a tight match. I’m still in it with one win and one loss. I need a good day tomorrow (in the third round-robin match against Marc Leishman),” said Lahiri.
Rose was all praise for Lahiri. He said: “I put enough pressure on him in the end, but Anirban is a great putter. He holed a 30-footer, and then another 40-footer or so. He’s dangerous with a putter... kept me on my toes.”