Anand Datla

Anirban Lahiri will learn from PGA Championship experience

Anirban Lahiri ended the PGA Championship with an overall score of 15-over 299 after posting a 78 in the final round. He shot 72-73-76 in the previous three rounds.

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Anirban Lahiri has been searching for answers in the PGA Championship

14 August, 2017: Anirban Lahiri will return from Quail Hollow with more questions than answers. After a week in which he played well off the tee, producing some good golf along the way, the pieces of the puzzle just did not come together for the golfer from Bengaluru. The disappointment of finishing near the bottom of the board will rankle Anirban, who is a golfer with both pride and purpose. A return of 72-73-76-78 does no justice to the abilities of this fine young man.

Anirban flew across the Atlantic, seeking to heal his bruises from the Open Championship. But with his trips to Ontario and Charlotte yielding precious little, the 30 year old will look to reboot his bag of tricks ahead of the Fedex Series to try and finish the year on a high.

In the final round on Sunday on the Quail Hollow course, Anirban shot as many as nine bogeys, including six on the final stretch. Plenty of that can be put down to fatigue from the stress of dealing with his own high expectations.

There is not much time to reflect though, as Anirban will make a quick road trip to Greensboro. The 92 mile ride on the I-85 N will only take ninety minutes. Anirban and Arjun Atwal are both in the field for the Wyndham Championship that starts on 17th August.

Atwal was a winner in the event, the first and only Indian to have won on the PGA TOUR. Anirban was expected to emulate Arjun and then surpass his senior as he made his way to the American tour last year, with full playing rights.

Despite several good results along the way, Anirban is still searching for his maiden PGA TOUR victory, since making his debut in 2012.

While recent results may suggest that Anirban has been struggling, 2017 has been a good year for the golfer on the PGA TOUR. He is ranked 59th on the FedexCup Rankings, on the back of some strong results.

T2 in the Memorial Tournament and T3 at the start of the season in the CIMB Classic underlined the fact that Anirban can compete with the best and hold his own. Unfortunately though, the 74th ranked Indian has struggled all season to put it all together over four rounds in a week.

Despite playing some exceptional golf at times, he has also endured a fair share of disappointments to let the advantage slip away. As he sits down with his team, consistency will be among the few things they discuss, as he works tirelessly to establish himself as a golfer of global repute.

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