Just three months out of Qualifying School and not even a blip on the radar after two rounds, India’s Anirban Lahiri stormed to his first-ever Euro Tour title on Sunday at the Maybank Malaysian Open, edging Day Three leader Bernd Wiesberger by one stroke.
Lahiri is only the 10th Indian to ever win a European title and the second to win the Maybank.
After shooting a 62 on Saturday, Lahiri added a 68 on Sunday to reach 16-under. After hitting five birdies in his first six holes on Saturday, he made an early push again on Sunday, birdying 1, 3, 4 and 5.
Wiesberger, who had a 5-shot lead over Lahiri to start the round, birdied 1 and 2 to keep pace early, but watched his lead drop four strokes down to just 1 when Lahiri birdied No. 5 while Wiesberger suffered a double-bogey 7.
Lahiri tied it with a birdie on No. 10, and took the lead when Wiesberger bogeyed No. 12. The Austrian got back to even when the Indian bogeyed 13, but Wiesberger was +1 over the last five holes while Lahiri was 1-under.
Spain’s Alejandro Canizares finished third at 13-under. Like Wiesberger, he struggled to a 74 on Sunday.
After leading through 36 holes, England’s Lee Westwood fell all the way into a tie for fifth with an ugly 75 on the final day. He started his day with a double bogey on No. 2 and did not record a birdie until the 16th hole.
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