Need to feel the adrenaline again, says Anirban Lahiri

By Rahul Banerji

Anirban Lahiri may have had to quit the ongoing Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) finals to evacuate his family from storm-threatened Florida, but securing a quick return to the PGA Tour has been most satisfying for the Indian star.

With a top five finish last week at the Albertson Boise Open and a shared seventh at the first KFT event, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship the previous week’s, said he was relieved to be “putting some scores together”.

“I haven’t experienced any kind of a high,” the 32-year-old former Asia no. 1 said after the Boise event. “Right now, I’m more focused on my golf and what I want to do in the time to come.

“I had a lot of belief in myself that I could get my card back and play well. I’m more relieved with the fact that I’m putting some scores together.”

Lahiri will now be focusing his energies on the upcoming season, beginning with the Safeway Open in California early next month.

‘Back on track’

Though he withdrew from the ongoing KFT Championship in Indiana where Shubhankar Sharma too is in contention for his PGA Tour card, Lahiri said he felt his game was back on track for the 2019-20 season having spent time with coach Vijay Divecha in between.

“It’s coming together. I was disappointed last week (at Columbus) that I got into position not only for a win but also to lock up the card in the first week.

“I made some bogeys coming in but I took it as a learning experience. It’s been a while since I was in contention and I needed to feel the adrenaline again and how to respond to it.

“I didn’t wake up on a different side of the bed the past two weeks. I started working on some basics again when Vijay came over in July. We got some rest, recharged the batteries and game wise I started to feel good again.

“This time, the short game was at its best in a long time. I hit it terribly but got up and down each and every time I was out of position. I kept grinding and had those birdies in the end,” added Lahiri.

Big relief

He was delighted to shoot four rounds in the 60s at Boise, the first time since last November when he had his lone top-10 finish of the season at the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico.

“I’ve not done that in a long time, so I’m more relieved to see myself scoring consistently and putting four rounds together. The trend is beginning to change and this gives me most satisfaction. If I can keep playing well, if I can keep doing this, it can only lead to good things,” said Lahiri.

Meanwhile, the Presidents Cup too looms on the horizon and the two-time member of the Internationals (2015, 2017) is still hoping to be an outside chance for a captain’s pick.

“The Presidents Cup is close to my heart but I think I finished 140 places out from the top-8,” he said. “I don’t know when Ernie (Els) will make the picks and I’m not thinking of it right now.

“My golf is beginning to trend in the right direction that I feel positive about it. However, the Presidents Cup is not my main focus.

“I just want to play golf and I’m not expecting to be picked unless I can turn it around. I’m just going to focus on events that are in front me now.”

Also read: Anirban, Shubhankar resume hunt for PGA Tour status