CHENNAI: "Been a long time coming. Still a few chinks in the armor that I need to work on..... but boy that felt good!! #fighton"
The expression after the hashtag sums up what Anirban Lahiri had been going through. The lone Indian regular on the PGA Tour was having a tough time. The promise he had entered the biggest golf circuit with was not fulfilled. Good outings had dried up. A trip to India got longer due to the lockdown and kept him away from the course and his livelihood for four months.
When he lined up for the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, the pressure on Lahiri was mounting. A missed cut on comeback was followed by a tied-36th finish in the first event of the 2020-21 season. He had to do better. His tied-sixth finish in the competition held in the Caribbean island nation of Dominican Republic triggered that tweet.
Along with a cheque for $140,000, this is huge relief for the 33-year-old. He had to see for himself that he belongs to this level, after suffering an alarmingly steady drop in rankings. World No 66 in January 2018, he was 686 when the Corales Puntacana event started. Rising to 532 after tying for sixth would be scant consolation for the former World No 33 in terms of rankings, but he might remember this.
Lahiri’s personal coach Vijay Divecha feels the forced break in India gave them an opportunity to work on a lot of things over a period of time. The player had flown down to Ahmedabad in March to train under Divecha. As his stay in India got longer, Lahiri spent a few more weeks in Ahmedabad from mid-June until almost the end of July.
“This gave us a chance to work on his game and his mind. The lockdown and travel restrictions allowed us extended time to get good work done. When the Tour is on, we don’t get these opportunities. We worked on everything. From pre-swing fundamentals, swing, fitness, short game, putting, iron play, driving, mental health etc. We didn’t leave anything out,” said Divecha, who has in the past travelled to the US and UK to help Lahiri prepare.
Lahiri’s 10th PGA top 10 came largely because of a spectacular third round of eight-under 64, which was the joint-best of the tournament over the four days. His last round was a two-under with four birdies and two bogeys. He finished with a tally of 13-under, five shots behind winner Hudson Swafford of USA.
Divecha also feels working with a mental conditioning expert helped Lahiri cope better with adversities. “Anirban is working with a professional mental trainer, who is part of the team. Obviously he is mentally strong to have reached this level. But over time, you need to work at a deeper level or levels. If one has not done very well, like his last season, then one can start doubting oneself. Working at deeper levels enables you to start trusting yourself and then puts in place processes that help.”