Indiaās Anirban Lahiri made it into the weekend rounds of The Open after battling typical Scottish weather for a one-over-par 72 in the second round on Friday.
The reigning Asian Tour number one traded two birdies against three bogeys at historic Royal Troon, which was greeted by rain, cold temperature and winds following a glorious opening day under sunshine and blue skies.
Lahiri, who has made the cut three times from four appearances at the oldest Major, said: āI managed to control the damage as I didnāt play too good. The idea was to get off to a good start but it wasnāt to be.
āA couple of judgement errors as it was new conditions. It was very different the way we have been playing the front nine all week so I think that kind of didnāt work in my favour. Iām glad I hung in there, although I did feel like I could have made a few more putts. A little disappointed but it could have been worse.ā
After a bogey on four, the 29-year-old, who played alongside Keegan Bradley and Sergio Garcia, birdied the famous par three eighth hole nicknamed Postage Stamp with a 10-foot conversion. He dropped two more shots on nine and 10 when conditions turned before salvaging his card with a birdie on 16.
āThe hardest holes are around the turn. Our group played seven, eight, nine and 10 in the wind and rain and thatās when conditions are the hardest. Itās hard to judge exactly how far itās going to go,ā he said.
Lahiri is hopeful of posting under-par rounds over the weekend in his bid to improve on his best Open finish of tied 30th achieved at St Andrews last season and equal or better a top-five outing at the PGA Championship last year.
āIāll be hoping to post two scores in the red. That should be pretty gettable for me, if itās deep enough in the red, then maybe I can give myself a chance on Sunday,ā he said.
Lahiri found comfort that he was now getting used to playing on the Major stage.
āThis year, Iāve been the least nervous. Itās also my fourth Open and itās nice to get more comfortable starting in weeks like this, knowing what is achievable from what Iāve done from Majors of the past. I feel like I play my best golf when I focus really hard during the Majors. Hopefully the last two days are evidence of that,ā he said.
The birdie on eight was particularly satisfying for Lahiri.
āAs hard as that hole played yesterday, itās going to be one of the holes you might see a few more birdies today, just because of how the winds are today. I hit a good shot and finally made a 10-footer. Itās been a grind on the greens for me. I donāt think I putted too badly but just burnt a lot of lips,ā he said.