Disappointing finish after a flying start sees Lahiri in 71st at Memorial; Hideki DQ

Disappointing finish after a flying start sees Lahiri in 71st place at Memorial

 Lahiri Dublin, Ohio, US, June 3: Anirban Lahiri got off to a blazing start with three birdies in his first six holes, but then ran out of birdies and gave away those gains to the extent that he finished 2-over 74 in the first round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

Lahiri’s 74 put him in the danger zone in terms of the cut as he was placed T-71 and needed a solid second round to ensure weekend action.

As many as six played were tied for the lead at 5-under 67. The six were Cameron Young, Luke List, Cameron Smith, KH Lee, Mackenzie Hughes and David Riley, who is having a great run in his rookie season.

It was a day to forget for 2014 Memorial Tournament champion Hideki Matsuyama after the Japanese star was disqualified for using a non-conforming club, which violates the Equipment Standards Rule 4.c(3). “Our committee became aware through some pictures that were posted that there may be a substance that has been painted on the face of one of Hideki’s clubs. Unfortunately, when we found out about it, Hideki was playing the second hole. He managed to use it off the first tee,” said Chief Referee Steve Rintoul.

Lahiri, who hit 11 of 18 greens in regulation started from the tenth birdied the 11th, 13th and 15th to go three-under. Then the birdies ran out. He bogeyed the 16th and double bogeyed 18th after taking a penalty as he went into right rough off the tee.

On the second nine, he parred first to the seventh and then dropped shots on eighth and ninth as he missed par putts from 11 and seven feet. He also missed a birdie putt from 10 feet on seventh.

In-form Korean star K.H. Lee put himself in contention for a second PGA TOUR victory in a month after carding a splendid 5-under 67 to share the first round lead with five others.

Three weeks after successfully retaining his AT&T Byron Nelson title, the 30-year-old Lee marked his card with a hole-out eagle, five birdies and two bogeys at Muirfield Village to share the day’s honours with Young, List Smith, Hughes and Riley.

Lee’s 67 equalled his lowest round at the US$12 million showpiece, which is hosted by legend Jack Nicklaus and is one of three elevated tournaments on the PGA TOUR. It is also the third time in his career he has held the 18-hole lead/co-lead.

Sungjae Im bounced back from an early blemish at the 13th hole, his fourth of the day, with three birdies en route to a 70 for joint 21st place while Si Woo Kim was further back with a 72. India’s Lahiri and C.T. Pan of Chinese Taipei battled to a 74 and 76 for T71 and T96 respectively.

Defending champion Patrick Cantlay opened with a 72, a score matched by World No. 2 Jon Rahm, who was leading the tournament last year through 54 holes before he had to withdraw due to a Covid-19 positive test.

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