Anirban Lahiri put himself in the reckoning at the 144th Open Championships after bringing home a bogey-free two-under 70 in the second round that catapulted him to tied 10th at the midway stage of the prestigious golf tournament here.
Lahiri improved his position from tied 18th at the end of the first round to tied-10 after the second day but he may move down since many of the other golfers are yet to start due to bad weather.
Some of the overnight leaders had just begun their second round, while Dustin Johnson (65 in round 1), who led after 18 holes and Jordan Spieth (67 in round 1) searching for his third Major in succession, were among those yet to start.
The second round after beginning briefly was suspended on account of rain and waterlogged greens and then resumed almost three and a half hours later.
When Lahiri finished Danny Willett (66-69) was in lead at nine-under and he was followed by Marc Warren (68-69) and Dustin Johnson at seven-under.
Lahiri, who shot three-under 69 in the opening day and added a 70 today with birdies on first and 14th holes, made a lot of excellent saves but then saw putts stop on the lip.
"But I will take this bogey free two-under and five-under for 36 holes. I played pretty solid and am happy with my play," said Lahiri, who this year has won two titles, the Malaysian Open and the Hero Indian Open.
Lahiri, who twice came close to birdies on 3rd and 8th, also found the green at the par-4 18th. But from about 60-70 feet, his first putt stopped 10 feet short and he missed it.
"It's sad to end on that note, as it would have been nice to back up 69 with another 69. I was thinking about when I got to it. I got to the green off the tee and then put the first putt to within 10 feet. Then I probably had the worst stroke of the day and missed it, and managed only par. Still I will take it," said the 28-year-old Lahiri.
This is the best any Indian has been placed at the midway stage of the Open Championships and Lahiri is on way to better his personal of T-31 achieved on his debut in 2012. The best by an Indian at the Open is T-27 by Jyoti Randhawa in 2004 at Royal Troon.
