Lahiri lying second, Muniyappa third at King’s Cup

KHON KAEN - Anirban Lahiri, looking to cap his fine season with a maiden win, opened in style with a six-under 66 that put him in sole second, two shots behind leader, Chinese Taipeis Chan Yih-shin at the end of the first round of the King’s Cup Thursday.

One shot behind Lahiri, who was third at the Hero Honda Indian Open, is Chinnaswamy Muniyappa, winner of the Indian Open. Muniyappa shot a 67 and is tied for third with Somsak Khaopratoom of Thailand and Lin Wen Hong of Chinese Taipei.

Maintaining the domination of Indians was seasoned Gaurav Ghei, who at 67th on the Money List needs a good finish to ensure a good position for next year. Ghei, three-time winner on Asian Tour, shot 68 and is tied sixth.

Digvijay (70) in tied 16th and Harmeet Kahlon, whose sole Asian Tour win came in 2002, is tied 28th at 71. Firoz Ali (72) in tied 39th, Manav Jaini (73) in tied 50th, Rahil Gangjee and Baaz Mann at 74 each in tied 68th were the other prominent Indians. Staring at an early exit was Himmat Rai (75) in tied 86th and Vikrant Chopra (76) in 104th place.

Lahiri was delighted with his round that included seven birdies, one of which was on the challenging 514-yard par four ninth hole. “It is a nice way to start the week. I teed off early in the morning and it wasn’t very breezy so I took advantage of it on the front nine,” said Lahiri.

“The ninth hole is the hardest hole on the golf course and it was good to be able to score there. Finding the speed of the greens here is very tough but I managed to gauge the speed and that will be a huge factor this week,” said Lahiri, 27th on the rankings following four top-10s.

Talking of his season, he added: “My second half of the season has been quite hectic so I took a couple of days off last week to rest. I am mentally more relaxed and I dont need to fight to keep my Tour card this week so I am just going out to have fun.”

Muniyappa’s round was boosted by an eagle. “I played very steadily. My eagle which was a 30-yard chip in was the turning point of my game. After four holes I was two-under but after that I could not sink anymore birdies. So the eagle gave me more confidence as I shot a birdie straight after.”

“Last week I played in India and finished second so I am coming in this tournament with some confidence. I played a couple of big events this year and even though I missed the cuts in China and Singapore, I feel that Im getting better because Im seeing and playing with top players on the Asian Tour.”

Chinese stalwart Liang Wen-chong withdrew from the Kings Cup after playing nine holes, where he was two under, due to a sore back.