Lahiri makes maiden entry into Players’ weekend rounds

By Rahul Banerji

Anirban Lahiri overcame a mental obstacle of sorts to make his first cut in four starts at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach and is finally getting to see some weekend action.

Lahiri sits in a big pack of 18 tied in 39^th place on 3-under 141s alongside the likes of Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler, all of them nine shots behind co-leaders Tommy Fleetwood (65, 67) and Rory McIlroy (67, 65) who are both 12-under over the first two days of the Players, referred to by some as the fifth major of the year.

The 31-year-old Lahiri came back on Friday morning to sink a four-foot par putt and complete a first round 2-under 70 at TPC Sawgrass. After a brief wait, he went back out to post a second round 71 which saw him making the cut after three previous failed attempts in the Players, the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament.

‘Better hitting’

“I hit the ball better than yesterday but I didn’t convert the opportunities that I got. I think I didn’t play that well on the par 5s, one wayward shot on 11 (into the water) to start the day, but other than that I just feel like I left a lot of putts out there.

The greens were running so much better that I should have made a few more,” said Lahiri.

With one top-10 finish on the PGA Tour this season in Mexico last November, Lahiri is eager to make up ground on the leaders in the third round of the Players.

He has been consistent with his ball-striking after recent adjustments but knows his putting needs to improve drastically after making just 56 feet of putts during his second round.

‘Off the pace’

“I just feel like my pace has been off this week, left a lot of 20, 25 footers short and running a lot of nine to 15 footers through the breaks a little bit. I need to work on that.

“Otherwise I’m happy with the way I’m hitting the ball and the confidence is growing. I’m hitting my iron play, which has been I would say an area of concern over the last few months. I’m beginning to see the shots that I want to hit, so, yeah, lots of positives,” said Lahiri, who is a two-time Presidents Cup International Team member.

“I never played the weekend on this track, which has been an irritation to say the least, especially after last year’s debacle. But I feel like I’ve kind of put a lot of demons to rest with my ball striking because that’s been the bigger concern.

Below average

“If anything, I’ve putted way below average over the last two days. And usually when I haven’t putted well I haven’t shot good scores. So to see some consistency return thanks to my ball striking is a big positive and I just need the putter to get hot and I can go really low.“

Diksha is second at SA Women’s Open

In Capetown, 19-year-old left-hander Diksha Dagar overcame an off-colour first day with a six-under 66 to move into second place after 36 holes at the Investec South African Women’s Open.

Dagar, who was tied fifth at the NSW Open in Australia a week ago, had a 76 in the first round in difficult conditions, but her second round took her to 2-under for the tournament. Dagar, who has her father on the bag, is two shots behind seasoned Lee-Anne Pace.

After strong winds played havoc with the afternoon field on the first day, the morning starters arrived to sunny, wind still conditions on the tight, tree-lined course at the foot of Table Mountain for the second round

Nervy start

Dagar turned professional in December last year after obtaining her LET card at Qualifying School. She was four-over after the first three holes on day one, but settled quickly after the nervous start and signed for a 76.

The 19-year-old former World Deaf Championship winner and 2017 Summer Deaflympics silver medallist showed none of the first round nerves as she went around the course in 66 strokes.

“I was on fire today,” said Dagar. “I only missed one green so I had a lot of birdie opportunities. I had trouble reading the greens in the first round, but I read them really well today. The grain slopes away from the mountain to the sea.

“I really attacked the flags and I hit almost every approach inside 15 feet. I’m happy that I was able to make some putts. It’s the first time that I’m playing in the leading group, so I am just going to shut out what the others are doing and play my own game.”

Also read: New daddy Anirban back in PGA Tour action at Genesis Open