Anirban Lahiri off to a fine start with 68 at American Express golf championship

Anirban Lahiri got off to a fine start with a four-under 68 and was lying tied-15th in the first round of The American Express golf tournament on Thursday.

Anirban Lahiri got off to a fine start with a four-under 68 and was lying tied-15th in the first round of The American Express golf tournament on Thursday. The Indian golfer opened with a bogey but steadied himself to pick five birdies and finish with a solid round on a course that is more difficult than the two on which the PGA Tour tournament is being played.

Brandon Hagy, a late replacement for Jon Rahm in the field, carded a 64 highlighted by 10 birdies to take the lead. Lahiri in a statement said, "I got off to a shaky start with a couple of average shots. I just started the day and it was actually a good putt for par. It was a break that went over the lip so that was a bit weak like I've been feeling and against the run of play.

"I did hit a few iron shots that kind of finished right where I wanted to hit them. But I kind of got it back later in the round. I hit a lot of good shots but didn't really make a lot of birdie putt and then I got a couple of bonuses. I missed a really short foot on 14 and on 13 where I hit a really good birdie putt that kind of slipped out. Then I made that monster putt around 15, so kind of evened it out. "And then I just played solid pretty much through the rest of the round but a little disappointed not to birdie the par fives on the front nine. But the Stadium Course is a tricky course. So, you know, if you can shoot in the 60s, that's definitely a solid on golf although I feel like I could have probably picked up two or three more shots but that's how it is."

Hagy made a string of three consecutive birdies on three occasions en route to his lowest score since posting his career-low of 9-under 63 at La Quinta Country Club in round two of last season's The American Express golf tournament. It fell a stroke shy of career-low, while Byeong Hun An came in with five missed cuts in seven starts.