Lahiri confident after solid start at the Open.

Anirban Lahiri produced a steady 69 in the opening round of the Open at the Royal Troon. Lahiri is paired with the Spanish powerhouse , Sergio Garcia and the English Bradley Keegan.

The 29-year-old reigning Asian Tour number one needed 33 putts to negotiate the greens and ended the day in tied 22nd place, six shots behind runaway leader Phil Mickelson of the United States.

“I think I played pretty good but left a few opportunities out there on the back nine. It was a good day to score, the wind died down. I had a few good looks but didn’t convert. I’m a bit disappointed with not shooting a couple under on the back nine but I’m quite happy with the way I played as I found a lot of fairways especially on a lot of the tighter holes and found a lot of greens. That’s a good sign hopefully,” said Lahiri, who is making his fourth appearance at The Open.

"I hit a couple of good putts early on. Two was a good one for me and I made a good save on three after finding the fairway bunker. That felt like a birdie,” he said.

“I had a lot of looks from 25 feet and a couple from inside 10 feet. Made good strokes but didn’t find the bottom of the cup. I focused pretty well. When you’re coming home, you can’t afford to get frustrated. If you do that, you try to push too hard, the course can bite you.”

“In the last two holes that I didn’t play solid, it was nice to not drop shots as I wasn’t in position,” said Lahiri.

“I was expecting the winds to pick up and with the sunshine all day, I thought the greens would get a little firmer but they didn’t. In a sense, it was a good draw to play in the afternoon. Whatever conditions tomorrow you just have to go out and play it. It’s the same for everyone.”