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After struggling at the beginning of the year, Indian has rediscovered his mojo lately as he gears up for his sixth Open C’ship
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND: Despite having a most unusual and interrupted preparation to his Open Championship campaign this week, there is an unmistakable spring in the steps of Anirban Lahiri here in Carnoustie.
The 31-year-old Bengaluru pro, who now resides in the West Palm Beach area in Florida as he plies his trade on the PGA Tour, will be making his sixth appearance in the oldest major championship in the world — a record for Indian golf.
After struggling at the beginning of the year, Lahiri has rediscovered his golfing mojo lately and can also bank on his wealth of experience of playing links courses as he looks forward to better his best result of tied 30 at the 2015 Open in St Andrews.
HECTIC
But this week has not been a bed of roses, quite literally, for the Indian ace. Lahiri flew in from the States on Sunday, but managed to get in only 20 holes of practice so far on a golf course that has been called everything from challenging to brutal by the global stars of the game.
And that is because the mattress at the house he rented, was proving to be too comfortable for the son of the retired army doctor. It led to three straight sleepless nights, and a crick in his shoulder area on Monday that restricted him to just being a spectator after playing two holes with compatriot Shubhankar Sharma.
“Hopefully, I have put that issue to bed!” quipped a cheerful Lahiri after moving into a hotel on Wednesday.
“It’s been a very strange build-up for me. I have usually played the Scottish Open before playing the Open, which I have not done this year. The preparation has not been like what I am used to at a major championship, but I am honestly not nervous or feeling ill-prepared. On the other hand, sometimes you do get a tendency to overplay and overpractice at times.
“But a couple of things…i am happy with where my game is right now, and I really like the look and feel of this golf course. There is no fear of unknown for me. I have played enough Opens now to feel familiar and comfortable with the courses and the atmosphere. I even recognize some of the security guards.”
SIMILARITIES
Lahiri has put a completely different perspective on Carnoustie, comparing it to Delhi Golf Club, a course where he has had phenomenal success, including winning the Hero Indian Open, and three other titles on the Asian PGA Tour.
“I am going to play it a la DGC. The terrain may not be similar, but I need to get that same mindset that I use there,” said the world No104, who made a holein-one in his Open debut in 2012.
“The ball is running like crazy here, it does over there as well. You need to avoid it running into the bushes and almost thread you tee shots, and you have to do the same here except that the bushes are replaced by the pot bunkers.” IN 2018 Events played:
Best finish: (The CJ Cup, Korea)
Cuts made
Top-10 finishes
Earnings
The Open: T30 in 2015
PGA Championship: T5 in 2015
GETTING INTO GROOVE
Lahiri started his PGA Tour season with two top-10s in a row, but the first five months of 2018 proved frustrating as he switched to new golf clubs and balls. However, he has finally managed to arrest the slide and played well in his last six starts, including shooting 18 sub-par scores in his last 24 competitive rounds.
“It is important for me to come into a tournament like this playing well. I am bringing a lot of confidence from my game over the last few weeks,” Lahiri said.
“My golf is closer to where it needs to be. I have had to manage a lot of transitions this year – change of equipment, change of caddie and other things.i had some issues with my swing and I flew my coach Vijay (Divecha) out to the US for some time and sorted that out. It has been a bit tumultuous, but I am putting it behind me now and am very excited for this week and the future.”