In the end, Lahiri finds form

Chicago, September 19
Anirban Lahiri closed his 2017 PGA season with a superb 5-under 66, which saw him end the third leg of FedExCup Playoffs with a top-10 finish at the BMW Championship. Lahiri, who opened the 2017 season with a tied-3rd at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia, ended 51st in the final rankings.
While it is not enough to take him to the Tour Championship, it does put him in a great frame of mind for the upcoming Presidents Cup. Lahiri, who had rounds of 67-71-68-66, was 12-under for the week at tied-9th place.
It was his third top-10 finish of the season, after tied-3rd at CIMB and tied-2nd at the Memorial.
After weeks of struggling with his putting, Lahiri showed signs of return to form, though he still missed a lot of putts inside 10 feet and some under five feet. “It does feel great to go to the Presidents Cup with a good result at an event like the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs,” said Lahiri. “Getting into the BMW Championship as the last man, and then getting a call from Nick (Price) for the Presidents Cup, and then this latest top-10 is indeed a great run. I want to make the most of it at Liberty National (Presidents Cup).”
Lahiri began aggressively with some excellent play and some huge putts. He birdied the first, third, fifth and sixth, but dropped a shot on the second. On the back nine, he birdied the 15th and 16th for a 5-under 66.
The highlight was the fifth and sixth holes, where he sank birdies from 33 feet and 48 feet, which would have done wonders for his confidence on the greens.
Leishman fends off Rose challenge to win title
Two weeks after a late meltdown, Marc Leishman avoided a repeat performance as he staved off a challenge from Justin Rose to win the title by five strokes.
The Australian’s dominant win at Conway Farms in Lake Forest shot him to fourth in the FedExCup standings ahead of the Tour Championship finale, behind leader Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson.
Leishman began the final round with a five-shot lead and was seven strokes in front of Englishman Rose, who twice cut the margin to two shots on the back nine.
But Leishman would not be denied, the Australian riding a hot putter to birdie the 15th and 16th holes and put the tournament out of reach.
He also birdied the last to card a 67 and finish at 23-under 261, a tournament record, for his third victory on the PGA Tour at the age of 33. “There were a few scars from two weeks ago (and I was determined) to not let that happen again,” Leishman said, referring to his fade at the Dell Technologies Championship outside Boston.
Leishman had led by two shots with nine holes left in that tournament before limping home in 40 to finish third.
“It was satisfying to finish off the way I did today,” he said. “I really wanted to prove to myself I can do it again from out in front. There was a bit of pressure there towards the end. Rosey made a run at me. Five-shot victory probably doesn’t do the day justice. It was a lot closer than that.”
American Rickie Fowler rallied late to shoot a 67 and tie Rose (65) for second place on 18-under. Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champion, closed with a 65 to finish tied for seventh and remains in pole position ahead of the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta starting Thursday.
The 30 players who qualified for the final event will vie for the $10 million bonus awarded to the winner of the season-long points competition. The top five control their own fate in Atlanta. Win the tournament and they also win the FedExCup.

Comments

comments