The Players Championship 2022 | Anirban Lahiri finishes close second behind Australia's Cameron Smith
A file picture of Anirban Lahiri.
|(Getty)
With a second-place finish at The Players Championship 2022 in Florida, USA, on Monday, professional Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri equaled his best-ever PGA Tour finish. The previous best performance for an Indian was a T2 finish in the Memorial Tournament, back in the year 2017.
After a tumultuous final day at the TPC Sawgrass, Anirban Lahiri finished one stroke behind Australia's Cameron Smith on 12-under. Â Lahiri, a two-time Olympian, went into the final day of the Players, the PGA Tour's most prestigious tournament, with a one-shot lead over the field. The Indian was able to hold on to his lead over the last seven holes of the third round, which had to be completed on Monday owing to inclement weather on Sunday.
Smith, on the other hand, jumped ahead of Lahiri on the leader board in the fourth and final round, making five birdies in his first six holes to Lahiri's one. Lahiri's tee shot went considerably off course into the bushes on the par-three eighth hole, forcing him to take a drop and finish with a double bogey. With a birdie in the ninth, the Indian replied nicely.
With Smith's three back-to-back bogeys to close the front nine, there was a five-way tie at the top going into the last nine holes, with both Smith and Lahiri in contention. Lahiri then carded an eagle and a birdie in the 11th and 17th holes, respectively. Smith, on the other hand, was unstoppable, making four consecutive birdies from the 10th through the 13th holes and then another in the 17th.
“I want to win. I’ve been here seven years; haven’t gotten over the line yet. That’s definitely a monkey I want to get off my back. Today was as good an opportunity as any. I gave it a good go. Made some mistakes today that I could have avoided, but that’s golf,” Anirban Lahiri said.
Lahiri would have been only the second Indian to win on the PGA Tour after Arjun Atwal (2010 Wyndham Championship) and the third Asian golfer to win The Players after Korea's K.J. Choi (2011) and Si Woo Kim (2017).
