‘Trying to play my best golf’
Consistency is on Anirban Lahiri’s mind as the golf star sets his sights on the Masters Tournament next month.
Lahiri, who was the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 2015, is now keen to qualify for the Masters Tournament and the International Team, who face the United States in the Presidents Cup later this season.
A few years ago, the 29-year-old would have altered his schedule to try and achieve those goals but experience now tells him to do otherwise.
Currently ranked 77th in the world, Lahiri said his Masters hopes will hinge on this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational as he has decided to skip the event in Houston, which is the last counting tournament for players to break into the world’s top-50 and earn their tickets to Augusta National.
“I have got one more week to try to qualify for the Masters. I’ve made up my mind that I won’t be playing Houston just because I’ve been a pro for 10 years now and in the entire duration, there’s always something to chase,” Lahiri said.
“When you start as a rookie, you try to chase your card, and when you are a regular, you are trying to chase your first win, and then the Order of Merit. There’s always something to chase. I’ve got to a point where I am trying to play my best golf. If that means I have to hold myself back from chasing things down, I will do that. I believe I am good enough to get into these events as long as I can play to my potential.”
The Masters Tournament is an event Lahiri believes he can do well, especially after finishing tied 49th and 42nd in the past two editions.
Another event which the seventime Asian Tour winner has his eyes on is the Presidents Cup, which he made his debut in Korea two years ago but missed a putt on the last green to lose a vital singles match to USA’s Chris Kirk. The US won the Cup by single point, 15.5 to 14.5.
“That’s something I want to play,” said the Florida-based Lahiri, who is ranked 20th on the International team standing, with the top-10 qualifying automatically on September 4.
“Without a doubt, I have unfinished business. I am so psyche on getting back on to that team, I am motivated. I have to approach it as a by-product and not as a target.”