21 January 2021: Riding with Anirban Lahiri is akin to a journey into the wild without a compass. He combines the breathtaking with painstaking, as you wake up each day charting a new course. Last week, On Thursday, Lahiri started with a stutter but never quite looked back, posting a 68 that helped him to T15 after the opening round. It was not until Monday that Brandon Hagy found a spot in The American Express. That seemed barely an afterthought soon after he signed on a 64 to own the lead with some stellar golf on the Nicklaus course. Hagy shot ten birdies including one on the 18th for a one-stroke advantage over Byeong Hun An.
Hagy was added to the field when Jon Rahm withdrew from the tournament on Monday. He took the course down in spurts, producing three sets of three birdies for an imposing opening round effort.
Lahiri is coming off a good run in the Sony Open, which featured three solid rounds and an opportunity for a top ten. Unfortunately, though, the Indian let himself down with a 74 on Sunday, undoing the thrust provided by a 64 and 65 in the middle rounds. On Thursday, Anirban appeared resolute to make a solid start. Despite a bogey on the first hole, the tenth, he marched around La Quinta with customary elan, punching five birdies on his card for a promising start to the week.
An made seven birdies in a bogey-free round of 65. The 2015 BMW PGA Championship winner on the European Tour is still hunting for a taste of victory on the PGA TOUR. The 29-year-old Korean has been at the wrong end of two playoffs – the Memorial in 2018 and the Zurich Classic in 2016. At 25, Si Woo Kim is already a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR but hasn’t seen success since clinching the Players Championship in 2017. The two Koreans put themselves on the map this week, with the latter shooting 66 in the first round. Max Homa and Martin Laird also made 66.
“I felt like I saw the greens really well, and the last couple of days, I felt like I was putting really well,” Hagy said. “Once I started to read them well, I knew if I could just keep doing what I was doing, I’d have a good shot to do something.”
Hagy is close to home this week and his wife and five-month-old child are at hand to lend some cheer and energy. “There’s nothing better than seeing a smile when you leave to go to the course, and then you get the same smile when you come back,” said Hagy, who has struggled with a wrist injury since turning pro in 2014.
“I’m happy with what I’ve been doing,” he said. “I’m getting to a point now where I know exactly what I need to work on and to just keep getting the reps.”
Phil Mickelson, host this week is missing his brother Tim on the bag this week, as he stays home for the birth of his child. Mickelson shot 74 and unless he finds a way to extract a low round on Friday, could be left playing host from the sidelines this weekend.
