Lahiri rises to second, two shots behind leader at Macau Open

Anirban Lahiri put himself into the lead pair for the final round of the Venetian Macau Open with a flawless four-under 67 here today.
Second-placed Lahiri is now 12-under for three rounds and just two shots behind defending champion Scott Hend of Australia, who also shot a 67 today in the USD 900,000 event.
Hend and Lahiri were one-two at the Macau Open last year also. Chasing Hend and Lahiri will be Thailand's Prom Meesawat who fired the day's best of 64 to lie three behind the leader.
Of the other Indians who are in the fray, Shiv Kapur (67) brought himself into top-10 at tied ninth at six-under 207 while Jyoti Randhawa (69) is tied 13th at five-under 208.

SSP Chowrasia (73) slipped to tied 28th at one-under 212, while Jeev Milkha Singh (74) is tied 38th at even par 213. Daniel Chopra (78) crashed to 55th place at two-over 215.
Lahiri, who rued his putting on second day, benefitted from extra work on the practice green as he on first, sixth, ninth and 17th. The 27-year-old Indian, currently second on the Order of Merit, is hoping to reproduce the form that saw him card 61 on the opening day or last year's final round of 62 in Macau.

"When I left the range this morning, he (Hend) said he wanted to play with me and I'm looking forward to it," smiled Lahiri, who is chasing his fifth Asian Tour title.

"I just told myself to come out more positively. Yesterday, I was not in a good frame of mind but I just enjoyed my round today, something Thaworn (Wiratchant) said 'I'm an old man and I enjoy my golf'.
"There's certainly a lot to play for, a lot at stake, a lot of goals and targets. Sometimes, you just have to remember to enjoy yourself which is what I did.