Anirban slips to tied-20th in Olympics as Xander Schaufelle grabs lead

Anirban Lahiri posted a decent even-par 71 through sixteen holes in the second round but failed to maintain his place inside the top-10 at the Olympic men’s golf competition on Friday.

Sixteen players, including Anirban, will play their remaining holes tomorrow before the commencement of the third-day game as the second day was suspended due to inclement weather.

Lahiri, who started his Olympics campaign with a solid 67, witnessed a rollercoaster kind of round to slip from overnight tied-8th to tied-20th position in Tokyo.

The 34-year-old Lahiri made bogey on the second hole, with a birdie on the sixth; he again made birdie on the tenth but shot a bogey on the thirteenth to end a stressed day somewhere near many top players.

World No. 5 Xander Schauffelle played a stunning round of 8-under 63 to grab the halfway lead at the magus opus event.

Schauffelle, who was outside the top-10 before the second round, made six birdies, two eagles, and two bogeys to claim the crown’s place.

The Mexican golfer Carlos Ortiz grabbed the place behind the leader with a one-shot gap.

Udayan Mane, the second Indian in the men’s circle, had a better second round compared to his opening day, which dropped him at the last position.

He carded 2-under 69 in the second round to make a slight jump at the leaderboard but is still nine strokes off the lead.

A pack of four golfers, including the 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama were three shots back at the tied-3rd position.

The pre-favourite Rory McIlroy shot 5-under in his second round to secure tied-7th position heading into the weekend action.