Indian star Anirban Lahiri was dealt a cruel moment during the second round of the latest LIV Golf tournament in South Korea. Lahiri, 37, appeared to be on a roll as he reached the ninth hole following three successive birdies.
A sublime drive left him with just a short iron to the flag. His approach initially seemed perfect as it headed towards the pin with the crowd getting excited about the ball potentially dropping straight in for an eagle. However, what transpired then left the player astonished as the ball hit the bottom of the flagstick on the full and cannoned off to the right.
Lahiri looked on in horror as the ball continued to roll down the slope, off the green, and into the greenside water hazard. After looking on with his hands on his knees, Lahiri was unable to recover and went on to card a double bogey.
The excitable commentary aptly captured the sickening moment. After the ball had deflected off, one analyst shouted: “You’re kidding!” before noting the ball was heading for the water. “Woah, stop. Really?”
The moment completely derailed Lahiri’s momentum. He followed up with a triple bogey seven on the 10th, and then another damaging double bogey two holes later to drop seven shots in four holes.
Having started the day in contention at four under par, he finished Saturday three over following a 79. That leaves him tied for 43rd, a full 16 shots off the leader, Bryson DeChambeau, and way out of contention.
It’s not the first time Lahiri has been left wondering what might have been since joining LIV Golf in August 2022. His debut tournament on the rebel tour saw him finish in a three-way tie for first in Boston with Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Niemann before losing the playoff to Johnson to finish second.
Last year in Andalucia, he missed a two-foot putt on the last that would have sealed his maiden LIV win. It proved costly, eventually losing out to Sergio Garcia on the second extra hole.