Lahiri waits on the cut line at French Open golf

Anirban Lahiri went through contrasting emotions on a challenging Le National at the Alstom Open de France when he finished the first round at two-under 69 and then carded a very disappointing 77 in the second.

It left him hanging at four-over 146 and he was on the danger line for the cut, which will be decided late on Friday  evening.

Lahiri, winner of the Malaysian Open and the Hero Indian Open, had a dream start of five-under for his front nine, but then had a disappointing finish to the first round late on Thursday as he added a bogey and a double bogey on back nine to finish at 69. The top 65 and ties will make the cut.

On Friday  starting early on the tenth, he had a nightmarish first nine, which was the back nine of the course. He 11th and 13th and then simply collapsed with bogeys on 15th, 16th and 17th and then crashed to a double on 18th for a four-hole stretch that saw him drop five shots. Then when he bogeyed the second, he was eight-over for 12 holes on <g data-gr-id="50">second</g> day. Yet he picked up birdies on fifth and seventh to give him an outside chance of hanging in for the weekend.

Shiv Kapur, who had two holes left to play from his first day, ended the first round with 75 and then shot the same score in the second round and at eight-over the week is certainly over for him very early.

Jeev Milkha Singh, whose first 76 included quadruple bogey 8 on par-4 17th, was two-under for three holes in second. Then he dropped three shots between seventh and 10th holes and slipped down to <g data-gr-id="47">six-over</g> for the tournament with eight more holes to play.

On the first day, Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, Victor Dubuisson of France and Jaco Van Zyl of South Africa were the clubhouse leaders with cards of three-under 68 each. When the first round ended on Friday  morning, Rafa Cabrera-Bello joined them. Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, a three-time Asian Tour number one, and Scott Hend of Australia, a six-time Asian Tour winner, finished day one on matching 70s.

After storms disrupted play on Thursday, 42 players had to return early the following day.

With <g data-gr-id="57">family</g> as the bedrock of his success, Lahiri’s trip to the British Open will be made extra special at the world’s oldest Major, scheduled to be held from July 16 to 19. “My entire family is going to be there and my coach is going to be there with me. This trip is going to be very special for me as both my mum and dad are going to be there for the first time together at a professional event <g data-gr-id="55">and</g> of course, my wife,” said the 28-year-old. Lahiri has been married to Ipsa Jamwal for little over a year and the seven-time Asian Tour winner has been full of praises for his wife, whom he credits for his success both on and off the golf course.  

“She has been fantastic. It’s great to have her by my side. The last couple of months <g data-gr-id="38">have</g> been fantastic.”