by sportswire4u.blogspot.com (Balbir)
BANGALORE, OCT 30
Bangalore’s Anirban Lahiri retained the BILT Open title after signing off with a steady two under 70 at the
KGA on Saturday. Lahiri totaled 11 under 277 for the week to take home the winner’s cheque worth Rs. 1,616,500 that helped him climb from fourth place to first position in the 2010 Rolex Rankings. Amardip.
Sinh Malik of Meerut finished four strokes behind Lahiri to be the runner-up.
Anirban Lahiri (68-68-71-70) did not have an ideal start to his title defence on the final day. He began with a bogey on the first hole where he first found the trees and then the bunker. At this stage he was the joint leader along with Amardip Sinh Malik.
Lahiri went into a two-stroke lead after making birdies on the third and eighth where he sank putts from eight feet and six feet respectively. The defending champion found the water hazard on the 10th and as result dropped a bogey that reduced his lead to one stroke.
Lahiri was struggling with his hitting but he made up for that with his excellent short-game. A great example of this was his tremendous recovery on the par-five 11th, where he picked up a birdie. He hit a poor drive on the 11th which landed in the fairway bunker. However, he managed to salvage a birdie from there after finding the edge of the green in three shots and then sinking a 10 feet putt.
The Bangalore lad all but sealed it when he knocked-in a 25 feet birdie putt on the 15th that once again put him two strokes ahead. Lahiri finally went on to register a four-stroke win as Malik’s challenge faded away after he dropped bogeys on the last two holes.
Amardip Sinh Malik (64-71-73-73) kept his title hopes alive as he made 10 straight pars and a birdie on the 11th. The birdie on the par-five 11th came after he hit the green in two shots. However, after Anirban pened up a two-stroke lead on the 15th, Amardip had to go for the pin and in the process he three-putted on the 17th and hit a wayward tee shot on the 18th. Malik thus ended up making bogeys on the last two holes.
Malik's runner-up finish helped him leapfrog from 27th to seventh position on the Rolex Rankings
Vijay Kumar (70-70-70-72) ended third at six under 282 while Ajeetesh Sandhu was a further stroke behind in fourth place.
Ashok Kumar, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Himmat Singh Rai and Digvijay Singh shared fifth place at four under 284.
Local amateur Khalin Joshi, who finished overall tied 36th at nine over 297, won the prize for the best amateur score.
BANGALORE, OCT 30
Bangalore’s Anirban Lahiri retained the BILT Open title after signing off with a steady two under 70 at the
KGA on Saturday. Lahiri totaled 11 under 277 for the week to take home the winner’s cheque worth Rs. 1,616,500 that helped him climb from fourth place to first position in the 2010 Rolex Rankings. Amardip.
Sinh Malik of Meerut finished four strokes behind Lahiri to be the runner-up.
Anirban Lahiri (68-68-71-70) did not have an ideal start to his title defence on the final day. He began with a bogey on the first hole where he first found the trees and then the bunker. At this stage he was the joint leader along with Amardip Sinh Malik.
Lahiri went into a two-stroke lead after making birdies on the third and eighth where he sank putts from eight feet and six feet respectively. The defending champion found the water hazard on the 10th and as result dropped a bogey that reduced his lead to one stroke.
Lahiri was struggling with his hitting but he made up for that with his excellent short-game. A great example of this was his tremendous recovery on the par-five 11th, where he picked up a birdie. He hit a poor drive on the 11th which landed in the fairway bunker. However, he managed to salvage a birdie from there after finding the edge of the green in three shots and then sinking a 10 feet putt.
The Bangalore lad all but sealed it when he knocked-in a 25 feet birdie putt on the 15th that once again put him two strokes ahead. Lahiri finally went on to register a four-stroke win as Malik’s challenge faded away after he dropped bogeys on the last two holes.
Amardip Sinh Malik (64-71-73-73) kept his title hopes alive as he made 10 straight pars and a birdie on the 11th. The birdie on the par-five 11th came after he hit the green in two shots. However, after Anirban pened up a two-stroke lead on the 15th, Amardip had to go for the pin and in the process he three-putted on the 17th and hit a wayward tee shot on the 18th. Malik thus ended up making bogeys on the last two holes.
Malik's runner-up finish helped him leapfrog from 27th to seventh position on the Rolex Rankings
Vijay Kumar (70-70-70-72) ended third at six under 282 while Ajeetesh Sandhu was a further stroke behind in fourth place.
Ashok Kumar, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Himmat Singh Rai and Digvijay Singh shared fifth place at four under 284.
Local amateur Khalin Joshi, who finished overall tied 36th at nine over 297, won the prize for the best amateur score.
