Golfer Anirban Lahiri scores maiden win on Indian tour

PANCHKULA - Anirban Lahiri, one of Indias rising stars, broke through a mental barrier with his maiden win on the Aircel-PGTI Tour with a come-from-behind one shot win in the Haryana Open 2009 here Sunday.

Lahiri carded a three-under 69 to finish at 10-under 278, one shot ahead of C. Muniyappa, who made a valiant attempt to chase his fellow Bangalore pro with a brilliant 66.

Its a wonderful feeling after winning my first ever professional title. I have waited a long time for this moment since I have been on the threshold of a win several times in the past but have not really got there. I feel a lot lighter now after having achieved this milestone. Its now time to build on this victory with equally good performances in the future, Lahiri said.

With the pressure of getting his first win now over, maybe Lahiri can play more freely and get better results, just as Gaganjeet Bhullar, since his maiden win on Indian Tour earlier this season. Bhullar followed his first win with four more in as many starts, besides one more on the Asian Tour.

Lahiri picked up a birdie on the very first hole, helped by a top-class drive and an equally good chip shot from the front edge of the green. The 22-year-old, who was tied fourth after round three, raised his title hopes after he birdied the seventh. Lahiri was in the joint lead along with Amardip Sinh Malik at the turn as Harendra Gupta, the overnight leader and Mandeo Singh Pathania slipped down the leaderboard due to their poor run on the front nine.

Lahiri added two more birdies to his card on the 10th and 12th to become the sole leader. He made a good 15 feet putt for birdie on the 12th and followed that up with a 12-footer for par on the 13th. The Asian Tour regular found the trees with his tee shot on the 16th but recovered well with two left-handed shots to make a bogey on that hole. He then pulled it left on the final hole but made a good recovery yet again with a great second shot (seven iron) from the rough and an accurate chip to round off his week on a high.

Lahiri took home the winners cheque of Rs.484,950 to climb from fourth to third on the Aircel-PGTI Order of Merit for 2009.