New daddy Anirban back in PGA Tour action at Genesis Open

By Rahul Banerji

Anirban Lahiri, who has just welcomed a new addition to the family in daughter Tisya, returns to the PGA Tour at the Genesis Open later this week with a spring in his step and a smile on his face following the arrival of his first child.

Lahiri and his wife Ipsa announced on Tuesday via social media the birth of their daughter on February 4, generating tons of good wishes and warm greetings from his fans.

The 31-year-old featured at the Sony Open in Hawaii with a tied 43 finish and the subsequent Desert Classic in January before taking a month off to prepare for the new addition to the family.

Lahiri has appeared twice at the Genesis Open at the Riviera Country Club, finishing tied 64 and tied 26 in 2017 and 2018. He will play the opening two rounds this week alongside Americans Luke List and Sam Saunders, and a group ahead of Presidents Cup International team captain Ernie Els.

Top priority

Now in his fourth PGA Tour season, Lahiri has made it a priority to play a third successive Presidents Cup but he currently ranks just 158^th on the team standings. The Presidents Cup, featuring the USA versus the Internationals, is to be played at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club from December 9 to 15 where Tiger Woods will captain the US team.

Lahiri was 99^th in last season’s FedExCup standings that included four top-10 finishes. He was tied 10th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, followed by another T10 finish with partner Gaganjeet Bhullar at the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf last November.

‘Good feeling’

Lahiri made his Presidents Cup debut in a narrow 15.5-14.5 loss to US in South Korea. When Els launched the new team logo which will now incorporates the national flag of each team member, Lahiri was over the moon.

“You do represent your country even though you’re an International first that week, and I think it’s (the new logo) also going to bring the people of these countries together. It’s going to motivate me even more, if that’s even possible come the next Presidents Cup. I think the people in India are going to see the Indian flag and gravitate towards it,” he said.

Topmost on Lahiri’s mind now though, is to get his game back into high gear starting at the Genesis Open which will have a star-heavy field including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson, Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth.

Also read: Lahiri falls short at La Quinta as Mickelson continues to lead