Lahiri\, Kiradech eye redemption at Players Championship

Lahiri, Kiradech eye redemption at Players Championship

Press Trust of India  |  Ponte Vedra Beach (US) 

will be looking to put behind his last three forgettable performances at when this year's tournament tees off on Thursday.

He has never needed a good result like he does in these next few weeks.

has not been good to him in the past three starts, all of which ended after 36 holes.

While is upset with his starts, Thailand's wants to erase memories of a quadruple bogey seven at the 17th last year. That Island Green took away the chance he had of a Top-10.

However, Lahiri, who is working on some technical changes in his swing feels the 'rectification work' is beginning to click and he is close to setting that right.

hopes and feels becoming a father for the first time last month and the shifting in the date of the Championship to March away from its previous slot in May, could change his fortunes, too.

Lahiri, who till recently used to be seen as a good putter, has been suffering on the greens. On Monday, he was there till late and was in fact the last to leave the practice green at the TPC Sawgrass. "The putter needs to work once again," he said.

"I'm having one super-destructive round at every event of late," said Lahiri. "I am making technical changes to my swing which is why there is some inconsistency. Some days I hit it great, some days I don't. I've also been inconsistent on the greens. In the 80 that I shot last week, I lost six shots on putting which is not me. I'm going to be spending a lot of time on the greens this week."

He took a fair amount of time off as he was with his wife, Ipsa, in India, while waiting for the arrival of their daughter early last month.

Soon after Lahiri married in mid-2014, he went on to win four times on and and secured his card as well. He is now hoping the arrival of will change his luck, too.

"Physically I feel good, mentally I feel good and I personally think I've turned the corner as far as my swing is concerned," he said. "has been my lady luck and hopefully can bring me more luck which I could do with some right now."

Meanwhile, at last year's Championship, Kiradech launched a brilliant final day campaign, getting to eight-under for the day before a quadruple bogey 7 at the Island Green at par-3 17th signature hole sank his hopes. He still had a round of 67.

But for that quad, Kiradech would have got his full exempt status straight away instead of waiting till later. Earlier in the week he had a double at the same hole. But for those six shots, he could potentially have been Tied-second but instead finished T-30th.

This year he is in fine form again. Earlier this month, Kiradech was T3 finish at the World Championships-Championship.

"I'm confident with my golf swing. I had a good week in and last week (Arnold Palmer Invitational) was also a good week (he finished T23)."

On last year's 17th, Kiradech, ranked 39th in the world, recalled, "Just one hole I didn't play good. I've forgotten already what I did last year and it's a new tournament. The course is always in good shape, it's a fantastic week. It's in perfect condition and the fans are out to support us. I don't think the course is different with the date change (from May).

"The wind is always difficult around here as it swirls from every direction. On 17, it can be tough as the grandstands block the winds so you can't see what happens up in the air. It's all up to me, and I want to put myself in the right position and keep it in play."

This week Webb Simpson is the defending champion and will face a stellar field which features two-time PLAYERS champion Tiger Woods, current FedExCup No. 1 Xander Schauffele and World No. 1 Justin Rose.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, March 13 2019. 10:40 IST