Potomac, May 9 (Golf News) Two late bogeys ended Anirban Lahiri's title hopes as the Indian golfer carded a disappointing 1-over 71 in the final round to finish tied sixth at the Wells Fargo Championship.
It was a creditable Top-10 finish for Lahiri, his second of the season, but the Indian was understandably disappointed, having started the day at T-3.
Lahiri carded a 1-over 71 to finish the week on 3-under 277, five shots behind winner Max Homa, who clinched his second Wells Fargo Championship victory and fourth PGA TOUR title after a closing 68.
"Very disappointed with how I finished over the last six holes, I think I battled quite hard and I put myself in a good position to make a run with five, six holes to go," Lahiri said.
"I got through most of the difficult holes and then had close misses on 13 and 14, and then a poor shot on 15. Just a little disappointed and frustrated with how I ended up." Lahiri, who shot up 11 rungs to No. 74 on the latest Official World Golf Ranking, takes a week off and could miss playing the PGA Championship as he and his wife and he are expecting their second child soon.
"I'm taking next week off in the hope that No. 2 does come … we'll see. There's a high likelihood that if he does decide to show up this coming week, then I guess I'll show up at Southern Hills. Family definitely comes ahead of work." Lahiri has every reason to be upbeat after producing a second top-10 of the season on the back of a runner-up finish at THE PLAYERS Championship, the TOUR’s flagship event, in March.
He moved up to 44th place on the FedExCup standings and that should also enhance his bid to earn a place in the International Team for the Presidents Cup later this year.
"All in all, it was a really good week. To be in contention on Sunday was goal at the start of the week, so I can definitely look back and say I have accomplished the goal I had at the beginning of the week.
"I would have liked to finish it better and that's definitely a work in progress. I feel like I'm playing well enough to at least put myself consistently in this situation." Lahiri and his wife are expecting their second child, a boy, to arrive on May 22, the final day of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
Lahiri has earned his place at the PGA Championship but is prepared to give it a miss if the baby does not arrive earlier than the due date. His last major appearance was at the 2019 U.S. Open.
Looking for a fast start on Sunday, Lahiri, who had three birdies and four bogeys, dropped a shot on the first hole when he went from right rough to left rough and reached the green only in three and two-putted from 18 feet for a bogey.
He made up on the sixth with a fine second shot to four feet for a birdie. However, he dropped a shot again on seventh when he hit his tee shot to the native area and went into the left rough with the second. He did well to get his third to within five feet but missed the par putt.
A great chip on the 10th got him his third birdie and he was now 1-under. He holed a 12-footer on Par-3 12th to get to 2-under and a charge seemed likely.
He missed a six-foot birdie putt on 13th then saw a superb 26-foot putt slide past the cup to 11 inches which he tapped in for a par.
He had a poor shot on 15th and also dropped another shot on 16. With bogeys on both, he went from 1-under to 1-over and finished at 71.
Homa played solid and steady golf as he closed with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot victory. The 31-year-old finished at 8-under 272 at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm to move into sixth spot in the FedExCup standings. He won for the fourth time overall, third in 15 months.
Matt Fitzpatrick (67), Cameron Young (66) and Keegan Bradley (72) were tied for second at 4-under 276.
Rory McIlroy shot 68 to finish alone in fifth, four shots back.
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News Source : PTI
