It has been Anirban Lahiri’s dream to sign off with a victory at his home course as an amateur. He had come close to achieving it last year before Gaganjeet Singh Bhullar spoilt his party, winning by a solitary stroke. But at that point, turning pro was a distant thought.
Playing at the Ealgeton Golf Resort for the last time as an amateur, the 19-year-old realised his dream with a score that would have had seasoned pros turn green with envy. In the middle of a brilliant run, Lahiri played four superb rounds to lift the cherished silverware in the Eagleton Amateur Golf Championship on Friday.
The teenager shot a gritty two-under-par 70 on the final day to emerge winner by a country mile. Lahiri finished with a four-day total of 15-under-par 272, a mind-boggling 13 strokes separating him from second-placed Raj Randhawa. It was one of the biggest margins of victory in recent years on the LG Indian Amateur Golf Tour.

Brilliant start
The title was more or less Lahiri’s for keeps, given the way the Asian Games silver medallist began. Rounds of 66 and 67 on the first two days left the rest way behind. Randhawa threatened to join the party with a fine move on the third day with a 67, but he just didn’t have the arsenal to take on the champion on the final day. The 19-year-old Delhi lad shot a dismal six-over-par 78 for a cumulative score of two-under-par 286.

Locals dominate
The locals who frequent the course could be pardoned if they had mistaken the event to be a monthly Eagleton Club championship. For, three out of the top-four on the leaderboard were from the home course. Young Chikkarangappa, playing only his second amateur event, finished third on 288, while Abhishek Jha was a further stroke behind in tied fourth place. The message that came out loud and clear over the four days was that the South golfers were ready to take on the big guns.
Going into the final round with a five-stroke cushion, the ghosts of the Malaysian Open debacle might have been playing on Lahiri’s mind. Leading by three strokes with six holes to go in Malaysia three weeks ago, Lahiri let his putter go cold and eventually lost by two shots.
Lahiri banished those demons with a birdie start to his round. Even so, he was far from dominant, unlike in his earlier rounds. Fortunately for him, Randhawa failed to come up with anything substantial. Lahiri had further birdies on the sixth, eighth — where he drove the green — and the ninth. But he dropped shots on the fifth and seventh holes.

Stunning total
After taking the turn at two-under, Lahiri had two birdies and as many bogeys to finish with a stunning 15-under total. “”I didn’t expect to shoot that score,” said a modest Lahiri.
The teenager, also the Merit List leader, gets another chance to master the field when the amateur caravan moves to the Bangalore Golf Club next week.
Final scores (Indians unless specified): 273: Anirban Lahiri (66, 67, 70, 70); 286: Raj Randhawa (71, 70, 67, 78); 288: Chikkarangappa (71, 71, 74, 72); 289: Abhishek Jha (75, 72, 72, 70), Simarjeet Singh (72, 74, 70, 73); 290: Amanjyot Singh (75, 72, 71, 72); 291: Saurabh Bahuguna (68, 76, 72, 75), Moin Malak (70, 74, 71, 76); 292: Akshay Butta (73, 75, 72, 72), Gagan Verma (73, 74, 72, 73), Prabhagaran (SL, 71, 74, 72, 75), H S Kang (69, 74, 71, 78).