La Quinta (US), January 22

Anirban Lahiri got off a to fine start with a 4-under 68 and was lying tied-15th after the first round of the American Express golf tournament.

The Indian opened with a bogey, but steadied himself to pick up five birdies and finish with a solid round on a course that is more difficult of 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 to take the lead. South Korea’s Byeong Hyun An fired a 7-under 65. Tournament host Phil Mickelson was way behind at T-132 after a 2-over 74.

Bhullar makes even start, Sharma stutters

Abu Dhabi: Gaganjeet Bhullar got off to an even-par start, but Shubhankar Sharma faltered over the last six holes of his weather-hit first round at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship here.

Bhullar finished the day with a 72, but Sharma made two double-bogeys to end with a disappointing 4-over 76 in the first round.

Bhullar took a lot of positives from the start. “Not the best start, but coming here I was a bit stressed out because of my driving stats. But I drove well,” he said. — PTI