Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri makes a good start on weather-hit first day in Wyndham Championship

By PTI

GREENSBORO: Returning to action after the Tokyo Olympics, Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri rode on some excellent approaches and had a couple of big putts to lie three-under through 16 holes in a weather-hit opening day of the Wyndham Championship.

Starting off on the tenth for the last regular season event before the FedEx Cup Play-offs on the PGA Tour, Lahiri had five birdies against two bogeys when play was stopped due to darkness.

A storm halted play for 2 hours, 7 minutes, with 30 players unable to finish the opening round.

Lahiri still has two more holes to play on the morning of the second day at Sedgefield Country Club here.

Russell Henley shot eight-under 62 for the lead as Korea’s Sung Kang was among seven players at 64.

The 34-year-old Kang fired his lowest round of the season with eight birdies and two bogeys on the card.

Lahiri holed a superb 19-footer for his birdie on the 11th, his second hole of the day, but gave away a shot on 13th after going into the right rough.

Back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 helped him get back to under par.

On Par-3 16th, he got inside six feet and on Par-4 17th he hit his approach to two feet for a birdie.

A missed par putt from inside eight feet saw him drop a shot before he had back-to-back birdies yet again on fourth and fifth with two fine approaches inside three feet and seven feet.

He has two Par-4s to play on eighth and ninth.

Henley birdied three of his final four holes for a two-stroke lead as Sung Kang, Ted Potter Jr., Chris Kirkand, Hudson Swofford, Scott Piercy and Michael Thompson shared second.

Adam Hadwin also was six-under, but had two holes left when darkness ended play.

Kang needs a win in this week’s final event of the Regular Season to qualify for the lucrative FedExCup Playoffs for a sixth straight year.

Countrymen KJ Choi, Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim, winner of the Wyndham Championship in 2016 — all carded 66s to share 19th place.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who like Kang also needs a win to qualify for the Playoffs and, more importantly, keep his PGA TOUR card, also shared the 19th spot.

He also needs a good result to be eligible for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals starting next week, which is another opportunity to keep his playing privileges on TOUR.

Chinese Taipei’s C. T. Pan, who won a bronze medal in the Olympic Games, shot a 68 for T61 position.