SHILLONG, March 29: A buoyant Anirban Lahiri will tee up at the Valero Texas Open starting on Thursday with every intention of challenging for a victory to earn a coveted place in the Masters Tournament.
The Indian star enjoyed a career highlight with a runner-up finish at THE PLAYERS Championship, the PGA TOUR’s flagship tournament, at TPC Sawgrass two weeks ago and is determined to build on his resurgence at TPC San Antonio which hosts this week’s US$8.6 million tournament.
“Who doesn’t think about the Masters? We all do,” said Lahiri. “I understand I’m going to need a win, just like everyone else who are not already in Augusta will be hoping to do so.”
The Masters Tournament, the year’s first major, begins at Augusta National Golf Club next week with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama defending his title. The winner in Texas, who is not otherwise exempt, will receive the final spot in the Masters field.
Lahiri has featured twice at Augusta National, finishing T49 and T42 in 2015 and 2016 respectively and those were the years when Lahiri felt he was playing some of his best golf. The 34-year-old was back to his old self a fortnight ago when he led into the final round at THE PLAYERS before finishing second to Australia’s Cameron Smith which saw him earn US$2.18 million.
Interestingly, Lahiri’s return to form was largely due to him adding 3.5 grams of weight to his irons which has since resulted him in free-wheeling his way around the golf course. A return to the Valero Texas Open will also give him a lot of confidence as he finished fifth in the event last year.
“Equipment wise, I’m all sorted and just trying to build on it. Just the fact that I have what I need to play well, and I can trust myself a little more, I can stop trying harder and kind of let it happen just like I did a couple of weeks ago. In terms of the process of letting go and just playing, THE PLAYERS was an important week to me,” said Lahiri.
