Unheralded Anirban Lahiri of India carded an eight under par 63 on Thursday to take a two-shot lead after the opening round of the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre. Ranked 178 in the world coming into the prestigious EPGA event in the Swiss Alps, the 26-year-old from Bangalore built his score around two eagles, including a 140-yard second shot on the ninth that flew straight into the cup.
Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez — who set the course record of 61 on his way to winning here in 2010 — and Englishmen Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood are all two shots back.
“It’s nice to come back here with a bang as it was a tough pill to swallow last year missing the cut in the manner I did, so I’m delighted,” Lahiri said. “I did not get off to a great start today [Thursday] to be one over after four, but then you never really expect to then have two eagles, so I tried just to build on the momentum of that.”
Photo: EPA
Two-time Ryder Cup winner Thomas Bjoern of Denmark is alone on five-under 66 after firing five birdies during a solid bogey-free round that puts him in early contention Six players, including Spanish veteran Jose Maria Olazabal, Scotland’s Stephen Gallagher and Thailand’s Pariva Junhasavasdikul are a further shot back on 67. The day, however, belonged to Lahiri, who was lying in fourth place after an opening-round 66 last year, but got caught out by a change in weather conditions on day two and ended up shooting an 81 to miss the cut.
“Playing here last year was a new experience for me as I went out in the second morning with about four layers on and after three to four holes I was sweating like a pig,” he said. “The next thing I knew I had to peel off some clothes, but then the clouds rolled in and the wind got up and I started then feeling like an icicle on the back nine.”
“So that was a harsh lesson to learn and hopefully I can make amends this week.” said Lahiri, who only qualified for his first major at last year’s British Open, where he not only made the cut, but scored a hole-in-one during his third round.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
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Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
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