Lahiri off to a fine start with 69, lies 17th at Sanderson Farms on PGA

Anirban Lahiri got off a to fine start with a three-under 69 and was tied 17th after the first round of the Sanderson Farms Golf Championship. Lahiri hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation during his first-round while compatriot Arjun Atwal was even par through the five holes when proceedings were called off due to inclement weather.

Tom Hoge was leading at eight-under, while Robert Streb, Cameron Percy, and Seamus Power shot seven-under 65 each to be tied second. Zac Blair, Zach Johnson, Cameron Percy, Emiliano Grillo, and Seamus Power are currently tied for fifth place at five-under.

There are six players at 67 and they included Emilian Grillo, Zach Johnson, and Byeong Hun An. After a drive to the left rough on the 554-yard par-5 on 11th hole, Lahiri hit an approach shot from 89 yards to 6 feet, setting himself up for the birdie on the hole to move to one-under for the round.

He added a second birdie on 13th and then on the 330-yard par-4 15th hole, Lahiri reached the green in two and sunk a 7-foot putt for birdie to get to three-under for the round. He turned in three-under, but dropped shots on Par-5 sixth but got back that shot on the 612-yard par-5 fifth, where he drove 321 yards.

Lahiri chipped his third shot to two feet, which he rolled for one-putt birdie on the hole to get back to 3-under for the round. He had a bogey on the sixth hole, where he missed a par putt from four feet, but yet again on the 403-yard par-4 eighth hole.

Lahiri also had a 142-yard approach shot and he played it well for a birdie and finished at three-under for the round. Chopra hit 10 of 18 greens in regulation during his first-round finishing at 3 under for the tournament. Chopra finished his round tied for 17th. He had three birdies and an eagle on Par-4 15th, but also dropped shots on first and sixth,

Among the big names trying to find their form early is Johnson, who has not had a top-10 in this calendar year and missed the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time since they started in 2007. Johnson missed the cut in last week's A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.