Turnaround came from finding the missing link: Anirban Lahiri

New Delhi: “It is not just appreciation, I can hear the difference in the voice of some of whom I have spoken with,” Anirban Lahiri sums up how his second place in the Players Championship at Sawgrass, Florida is altering his golfing universe. While his resilience has been the story of the world’s richest tournament, 48 hours after the dramatic Monday finish, Lahiri still rues “what could have been” if he had produced that final hole birdie and forced a playoff with Australian winner Cameron Smith, who won by a shot.

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“I keep thinking what could have been. Obviously it’s a great result, great finish, but I dearly wanted to win,” he says in an interaction with Indian media on Wednesday. The 34-year-old has credited his consistency to tweaking his irons, making them a touch heavier to find balance in his swing. “The turnaround came from somewhat finding the missing link” but running each shot he played in the back nine of the final round has also showed the improvements he needs to end a seven-year wait for a pro title.

“There’s a lot of work still to be done because, you know, if I’m in that position again on the back nine this time Sunday, I’d like to hit those same shots within 15 and 20 feet to give myself opportunities which I failed this Monday.” That does not include the final chip that didn’t find the pin, after his approach didn’t land close enough for a birdie.

Lahiri wants to reset after five weeks of non-stop play before resuming—“five days of Sawgrass feels like a month”—before taking another break when his wife is due for their second child. His next event is the Texas Open starting on March 31, the week before The Masters (from April 7), for which he is still to secure a spot.

He speaks about the mental conditioning work that helped him stay focused after holding the 54-hole lead—the last time was at the 2016 CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, an event that was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and US PGA Tour. Lahiri slipped then, but the experience and calmness made the difference.

How about comparing the three high points in his career—tied fifth at the 2015 PGA Championship, fresh from his two European Tour wins, the T2 at the 2017 Memorial event, and this?

“At the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, you know, I was really on top of my game in every department. I was playing the golf of my life, to be honest. The one thing I didn’t have is probably the experience… not as calm and collected,” he says. “This time at The Players it was, “I’m going to go back here again next year”. This is my seventh time here. If I add my Players to the number of majors I've played, it’s in the 20s, so that’s definitely one dynamic change.

“As far as Memorial was concerned, that final round 65 came from a point of having a wall behind my back… I had already hit rock bottom, I was about to go into a 10-day vipassana course. I had missed, I don’t know how many cuts. I don’t even care, just give me a club, point to me, there’s the fairway, I'll hit it there.

“Sawgrass this time was a completely different ballgame, I was ahead after two days, after three days… everyone was trying to come get me or pass me. The conditions, it was ridiculous. It was out of a storybook. You had -2 degrees Celsius when I teed off on Sunday morning, which I have never played in my life,” he says. “Wind, water on the greens, cold, wind gusts. So it was a much more wholesome performance I think with The Players. I was the last guy on the course so I knew what was going on ahead of me and I still had to take action… I’m really happy with how I handled it.”

Bottom and back, last-gasp equipment re-set—“will stick with for 3-4 years”—took him to second in the unofficial “fifth Major”. A boost in world ranking (89) and FexCup standing (45) has followed. A first PGA Tour win this season would be icing on the cake.

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