Lahiri set to open 2021 with Sony Open in Hawaii

Honolulu (Hawaii), Jan 14 India's Anirban Lahiri is set to tee off at the Sony Open in Hawaii beginning Thursday where he will aim for a strong start to his new year after three modest results at Waialae Country Club.

Lahiri arrives at the famous holiday isle after a welcome break at home following a series of decent run of form in the fall, which included his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in nearly two years.

In recent months, Lahiri has performed well on the Islands he was T6 at the Dominican Republic and T11 in Bermuda. The strong run towards the end of 2020 has also meant an improvement in his rankings which has translated into at least three or four straight weeks of competition to begin the New Year.

"The schedule so far is looking good. At the moment, I should get into the first four starting with Sony Open, the American Express and then Torrey Pines (Farmers Insurance Open), and hopefully Phoenix (Waste Management Phoenix Open)," said Lahiri.

"I could continue playing but I think as of now, I'm planning on playing the first four and let's see how it goes. I am feeling good with the game. And I would love to do well in Hawaii," he added.

In 2020, his form dipped and there were not enough tournaments due to his low ranking. A truncated 2020 saw him miss four cuts in his first six starts before the Tour was halted in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in March. Lahiri, who had returned to India to play the Hero Indian Open last March, was then forced to stay on in India as international flights were suspended.

"It was tough for my golf but not all that bad because I got to spend a lot of time with my family, which I normally don't get. Also I managed to get a lot of time with my coach, Vijay Divecha and work on my game and that helped," said the 33-year-old.

Lahiri returned to US but got in only one more event before the 2019-20 season concluded. Then came the fall season and things turned for the better. Starting with the Safeway Open, he featured in four tournaments and made the cut in all, including the tied sixth finish in the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and tied 11th in the Bermuda Championship.

( With inputs from IANS )