The Loop

Anirban Lahiri loses his golf ball in a tree, then loses CIMB Classic to Justin Thomas

October 23, 2016

For a second consecutive week, Anirban Lahiri found himself in an unusual situation. And for a second consecutive week, Anirban Lahiri walked away with a painful loss.

Seven days after birdieing the final seven holes of regulation only to lose an Asian Tour event on the first playoff hole with a layup into a water hazard, Lahiri seemed poised to win his first PGA Tour title. The Indian star took a four-shot lead into the final round of the CIMB Classic, but disaster struck on the third hole on Sunday. Lahiri hit a wild tee shot on the par 5, and to make matters worse, it never came down:

Lahiri wound up making a quadruple bogey on the hole, suddenly putting him in pursuit of Justin Thomas.

To his credit, Lahiri bounced back in impressive fashion. First, with a birdie on the fourth hole, and then with this eagle on No. 5.

But he couldn't quite overcome his early mistake/misfortune. Lahiri wound up T-3 at 19 under, four shots behind Thomas, who became the first PGA Tour player to successfully defend a title since Matt Every at Bay Hill in 2015.

Of course, even without that 9 on the scorecard, Thomas would have been tough to beat. He birdied four of his first five holes on Sunday -- giving him an incredible nine birdies in a 10-hole stretch going back to the third round -- and shot his second 64 of the week. Here are the full final-round highlights: