Undergoing a swing change, Anirbal Lahiri often switched between his old style and the reworked one inadvertently. “There were times when I realised I was using my old swing,” he said. In the end, it didn’t matter how he hit the ball: it just seemed to be going where he wanted it to.

The 22-year-old pro, who notched his first professional victory in September, won another — the biggest on the Indian tour — lifting the BILT Open title, having finished seven strokes ahead of the next best in the field.

Lahiri, who shot a one-under 71 in final round, aggregated 20-under 268, bettering the course record by one — set up by Jyoti Randhawa last year. The victory, which fetched him a cheque of Rs 16.16 lakh, was all the more sweet as he’d lost to Randhawa here in the 2008 edition after leading the field for three days.

“I would’ve loved to win the event with the ‘sharks’ around (Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Gaganjeet Bhullar, all of whom skipped the tournament to play in Shanghai). Nonetheless, the win means a lot to me. It gives me loads of confidence for the remaining events this season, especially the international ones,” he said.

Lahiri, who made three birdies and a bogey on his remaining nine holes from round three in the morning, led the field by six strokes at 19-under 197 after the third round with a 66 to slam the door shut on the chasing pack.

... contd.