Golf: India's Lahiri hopes to build on strong finish in Texas

[April 05, 2021]    (Reuters) - India's Anirban Lahiri was pleased to be back among the contenders on the PGA Tour at the weekend after struggling to find form in recent months and hopes his fifth place finish in Texas will be a springboard for the rest of the season.

Anirban Lahiri watches his tee shot on hole 1 during the third round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

The former Asian No. 1 started the day five shots behind the leaders at the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio on Sunday and shot a three-under-par 69 to ensure his best finish of the season.

The 33-year-old finished eight strokes behind winner Jordan Spieth but thought he could have been closer.

"I think overall through the week, I didn't convert as many of my opportunities," Lahiri said.

"I definitely hit the ball good enough to contend and maybe win, but my bunker play and my short game, and putting from mid-range to short range, was below par. Those are the things that I need to work on."

Lahiri had missed five cuts in his last six starts and his finish in Texas gave him a much-needed boost in the FedExCup standings, lifting him to 94th from 125th.

"I've put a lot of work in the full swing and ball striking in the last month or so, and to see that working and holding up under pressure is very pleasing," he said.

"I'm very happy with how I kept my composure and kind of stuck to what I needed to do. It was one of those weeks that I could have done a lot more but I'd rather build on this and work on some of the areas where I came up short on."

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter Rutherford)

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