Matt Kuchar conquers Waialae

LAKE FOREST, IL. – Anirban Lahiri spent 10 days at a silent meditation retreat in western Massachusetts earlier this summer, but not even quiet persistence can fully explain how he’s hung on the last 10 days, barely squeaking into the fields at two of golf’s most elite events. First, Lahiri got by without his best at the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston on Labor Day, finishing T56 but watching the breaks go his way as Branden Grace and Russell Knox struggled coming in. That left Lahiri at 70th in the FedExCup, making him the last man into this week’s BMW Championship. Barely 24 hours later, Lahiri, 16th on the International Presidents Cup team points table, found out he had received one of captain Nick Price’s two wildcard picks—the most surprising of the four by Price and U.S. Captain Steve Stricker. The Internationals will play the United States at Liberty National, Sept. 28-Oct. 1. “It’s been a good time for me,� Lahiri said from the BMW at Conway Farms. “Last man in here, arguably the last man into the Presidents Cup, if you want to put it that way.� The cookies, as Lahiri likes to say, are crumbling his way. It has taken something special to get here for everyone in this week’s field at Conway Farms, but maybe for Lahiri most of all. His father, an Army officer, introduced him to the game when he was 8, and he was hard-pressed to find many golfing role models in India. Jeev Milkha Singh played a little on TOUR, as did 2010 Wyndham Championship winner Arjun Atwal. Lahiri, 30, proved an equal if not superior talent. He won 18 times worldwide but is still searching for his first victory on the PGA TOUR. He’s also still searching for his A game, and is admittedly fortunate to be doing so here among the elites at the BMW. After saying all season that he wanted a chance to atone for his 0-3-0 record at the 2015 Presidents Cup, he’ll get that. “I’ve obviously got Nick’s cell phone number, but he must have called me from his home phone, so I wasn’t expecting it—the call just showed up as Hobe Sound,� Lahiri said. “I didn’t do the math. I know he lives in Hobe Sound. ‘Hey, it’s Nick.’ ‘Oh!’ “Obviously, Nick and I are friends now, since the last Presidents Cup. We talked about the hurricane, talked about what’s happening, my game, how are you feeling, and then he said, ‘Oh, by the way, we had a long conference call.’ I was almost expecting him to say, ‘I’m really sorry,’ but he said, ‘We want you on the team.’ This was probably five minutes into the call. I was looking at my wife and gave her the thumbs-up. She didn’t know who I was talking to.� As if narrowly getting into the BMW Championship and the Presidents Cup didn’t leave his nerves sufficiently frayed, Lahiri and his wife, Ipsa Jamwal, evacuated from their U.S. base in West Palm Beach to New York in advance of Hurricane Irma last week. Once they arrived in the safety of New York, Lahiri and Presidents Cup teammate (and fellow evacuee) Emiliano Grillo of Argentina caught the U.S. Open semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro, then played Liberty National for the first time on Sunday. It was part and parcel of Lahiri’s commitment to making this Presidents Cup experience different from the last one. “Obviously, it left a bitter taste in my mouth, but not just me, the whole team,� Lahiri said of Korea, where the U.S. won 15.5-14.5. “There is such a huge difference between being a rookie and coming back. I was sort of like a deer in the headlights because I had not played on this TOUR, I was not used to being on the big stage.� Two years later, Lahiri has a home here, and plays the TOUR fulltime. He and his wife have rented in West Palm since April of last year, but they’ve bought a home in PGA National and have been renovating it for the last nine months. “Like a baby,� Lahiri said. The home, which they are scheduled to move into late next week, was mostly spared by Irma, leaving Lahiri to focus on other things, like his golf. First on the agenda will be to get to East Lake and the TOUR Championship, which will probably require a win or close to it. There’s a certain freedom in that, though. The last time Lahiri felt the need to go for broke, at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, where his TOUR card hung in the balance, he tied for fifth. (He would eventually get his card through the Web.com Tour Finals.) Then he’s got the Presidents Cup to look forward to, in front of the legendary New York fans. Lahiri has watched with great interest as players like Ian Poulter, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson have upped their games for team golf. “I definitely believe I can do that,� he said. Two years ago, Lahiri was the first from India to play in the Presidents Cup. It was a nice distinction, and while he’s still the only one to play in the event, and is proud of it, he says it’s now time to up the ante. “The time has come where it’s not just about representing,� Lahiri said. “You’ve got to show up and make those points for your team, make a difference, be a part of a winning cause. I’ve been saying this to the media back home. “Just playing the Olympics is not enough. Just playing the World Cup is not enough. Just playing in the Presidents Cup is not enough. Just playing in the majors is not enough. You’ve got to show up and contend and play well and win one of those things. Otherwise, you’re not going to have the next generation want to play the sport. You need to do something special.� That’s true, but there’s also something to be said for sheer survival, and just getting this far has been at least half the battle. As for the other half, who knows? If his next 10 days are as charmed as his last 10, Anirban Lahiri could be ready to make some serious noise.

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The PGA TOUR regained traction on the 2022-23 season with last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, but with only 39 golfers competing in the exclusive invitational on Maui, the rubber doesn’t meet the road in earnest until this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. RELATED: The First Look | Five Things to Know The 144-man competition at Waialae County Club in Honolulu represents the first sizable gathering since The RSM Classic in the week before Thanksgiving. However, as Jimi Hendrix crooned, are you experienced? For why that matters so much and more, continue reading beneath the ranking of projected contenders. POWER RANKINGS: SONY OPEN IN HAWAII Billy Horschel, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar and Emiliano Grillo will be among the notables review in Draws and Fades. The soft reopen (and hard close … sigh) at Kapalua personified the undisputed claim that Hawaii is a remote land of extremes no matter the pursuit. Unsurprisingly, it also applies to the experience on the southeastern shore of Oahu. This is the 58th edition of the Sony Open in Hawaii. All have been staged at Waialae. Throughout the FedExCup era (2007-present), it’s been a par 70 capable of ranging to 7,044 yards, and it will again this week. Save a bunker that has been split in two beside the green on the par-4 first hole and bermuda greens allowed to stretch another foot to 12 on the Stimpmeter, the course is the same. So, sans surprises that could even the playing field, literally or figuratively, a pair of strong trends has reason to continue. Although Kapalua and Waialae never will be confused as twins, the objectives on each are the same – hit greens and sink putts. Despite vastly different topographies – Kapalua is on the side of a mountain; Waialae is flat and at sea level – wind really is the only challenge on either, and like last week, it isn’t forecast to be that at all again once the Sony starts on Thursday. With all other elements cooperating, the field will have a great chance to copy last year’s scoring average of 67.998. So, as of midday Monday, the 18 who teed it up at Kapalua and have made the short trip to Waialae have the edge to win. They are warm and arrive with the knowledge that eight of the last nine champions of the Sony played the Sentry the previous week. The other almost unbelievable fact of the matter is that, since Gay Brewer prevailed in the inaugural edition of the Sony in 1965, Russell Henley is the only winner in his tournament debut. Fitting for the phenomenon of extremes, Henley was in his first-ever PGA TOUR start as a member in 2013. The moral of the matter, then, is that first-timers who didn’t peg it at Kapalua last week are facing headwinds of trends times two. For the sixth consecutive year, all Korn Ferry Tour graduates who have committed are in the field. So, even the slowest starters aren’t penalized this opportunity after the first reorder of their category at the conclusion of the fall portion of the last wraparound season. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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