Anand Datla
May 03, 2016: After a couple of weeks of re-calibration and rest, Anirban Lahiri was back in action last week at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. The 55th ranked Indian took time out immediately after finishing T42 in Augusta, to set up his new home in Florida and work with his coach Vijay Divecha. After a poor first round, Lahiri played well over the next two days but only managed to finish in T48 at 5-under. Brian Stuard won his maiden PGA TOUR title after remaining bogey free through 56 holes of a rain affected tournament.
Anirban started off on a difficult note, producing four bogeys over an eleven hole stretch to start the tournament. But the gritty golfer tightened his game to make a strong turnaround from there.
He was bogey free through 42 straight holes – a stretch in which he also produced 8 birdies to work his way up the order. But his scores of 72-69-70 were only enough to bring him just inside the top 50.
The Indian has lost 2 spots on the OWGR, dropping from 53 to 55 this week. While a spot at the Players Championship looks unlikely (needs a win in Wells Fargo to qualify), he needs to remain inside the top 60 to retain his place for the US Open later this June.
Anirban has made the cut in 10 of 13 starts this season, including four finishes inside the top 30. He will need to perform even better this week to try and avoid slipping further down the order. With $446,479 in prize money this season, Anirban is lying 105th in the FedexCup rankings. The top 125 men will qualify for the FedexCup series.
The Indian has a packed schedule ahead of him as he is scheduled to play several events over the next few weeks. He will hope to secure his future on the PGA TOUR with a solid run, even as he seeks to register a maiden victory in his first full season in America.
A run at the course will also help Anirban collect some useful information about Quail Hollow, the venue of the PGA Championship in 2017.
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- anand datla
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