I need to sort out my iron play: Anirban Lahiri | Golf News – Times of India

Golfer to focus on recovery as he aims to make it to Augusta
BENGALURU: Ace Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri’s biggest strength is his ability to stay unruffled even in the worst of times and overcome obstacles with grit.
Despite not being on top of his game in the last couple of years, Lahiri has come up with the goods to keep his PGA Tour card. On the eve of the Players Championship, the 34-yearold hoped that he wouldn’t have to wait till the end of the season to pull it off (retain his card). He didn’t have to. He uncorked magical stuff over five days in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, which nearly fetched him his maiden title.

A day after his second-place finish, a stroke behind the winner in the $20 million event, which helped him climb to No. 89 in the world rankings, Lahiri spoke about his turnaround in a virtual chat with the media.
Excerpts:
You came into the tournament with three straight missed cuts and a T-74th place finish, what was the key to the turnaround?
It came from finding the missing link. I have been hard at work with all departments of my game, including the mental and my processes. Those things have started to fall into place over the last few weeks. I had my iron play troubling me and definitely there was a big uptake. Having said that, over the last day-and-a-half, I thought about all those iron shots on the back nine that I didn’t hit well from the fairway, whether it was 18, 15, 13, or 14. Obviously, a lot of work still to be done because if I’m in that position again on the back nine on the final day, I would like to hit those same shots within 15 and 20 feet to give myself opportunities that I failed to give myself this Monday.
You added some weight to the irons, will you stick with it in the future?
Definitely. These changes are long-term. When we changed the swing weight, it changed the balance. You don’t make these changes unless you rule out everything else. We double-checked every other specification in my equipment and then this was like the last roll of the dice. If I made this change now, I would probably play the same weight balance at least for three, four years.

Now that you have sealed your card, what’s your schedule going to be?
I’m looking at getting back to 100 percent physically. It was a five-week stretch and the last week at Sawgrass felt like a month, so my body’s a little bit beat up right now. I’m going to focus on recovery. My next tournament will be the Valero Texas Open. That’s the week before Augusta, so I suppose that will be my last opportunity to make it to the Masters.
How does it feel to get a congratulatory message from Sachin Tendulkar?
I saw the tweet literally 10 minutes before we started the call, and that was a pleasant surprise. I still remember fondly when Tiger (Woods) came to India in 2014, it coincided with Sachin getting his Bharat Ratna. We had gone to a dinner hosted for Tiger, and Sachin was staying in the same hotel. Later he invited us, Shiv Kapur, Sharmila Nicollet and me, and he spent hours talking to us. I know he loves his golf. A lot of cricketers do, but to have that from him, it’s a big deal. As a fan, as a cricket lover, also for a nation that is cricket mad, to have that acknowledgment from someone like Sachin can only do great things for the sport.