Lahiri has unfinished business at Presidents Cup
JERSEY CITY, United States: It’s been two long years since Anirban Lahiri’s agonizing miss of a short putt on Sunday helped the United States to yet another Presidents Cup victory.
The Indian golfer is hoping to make amends when the underdog International team has another go at the mighty Americans this week at Liberty National Golf Club in the 12th edition of the biennial Match Play contest.
“I felt like I let the team down, and I feel like I need to go back out there and contribute to the winning cause,” Lahiri said after getting the call from International captain Nick Price.
Lahiri had a birdie putt from within four feet to halve his singles match against Chris Kirk at Incheon two years ago – but it lipped out to give Kirk a crucial win in the United States’ 15.5-14.5 triumph.
Price believes that kind of experience only makes a player stronger, and he had no hesitation in making the 68th-ranked Lahiri one of his two captain’s picks.
“You’ve got to learn to lose before you really appreciate how to win,” he said.
A two-time winner on the European Tour, Lahiri was hampered by injury for much of 2016, but opened this season with a tie for third at the CIMB Classic and posted his best US tour fi nish to date with a share of second at the Memorial.
A top-10 finish at the BMW Championship this month was another sign that Lahiri could be a valuable contributor on a team that isn’t intimidated by the depth of talent on a US squad on which all 12 players are ranked in the top 30. — AFP