Struggling for strong finishes, Anirban Lahiri has been paired with the four-time Major champion Ernie Els at the Well Fargo Championship as the Indian continues his PGA Tour quest.
The 49-year-old Els is one place behind Lahiri in the FedExCup standings this season at 162.
Lahiri, who has had a very modest season so far and lies way behind in FedExCup, needs a few good finishes as the season moves into its latter stages.
He has slipped to 213 in World Rankings and is lying 161st in the FedExCup rankings.
His last win came on the European Tour at the Hero Indian Open in 2015 on home turf. The last four season have established him in the PGA Tour but he is still searching for his breakthrough win and this year he also needs to play well over next few months to ensure that he keeps his record of making the play-offs each year.
Lahiri's best this season has been a T-10 finish at Mayakoba which was actually in 2018, when the season began. It has also been his lone Top-10 this season.
"I know I need some good finishes, though I feel I am in decent shape. I have not scored well," he said.
Putting has let him down often this season, but last week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans there were time when his putting seemed to have returned. But he will need to be more consistent.
Jason Day is the defending champion, seeking to become the event's first back-to-back winner and join McIlroy as the only multiple winner.
The field has 14 of the top 30 in the current FedExCup rankings and Phil Mickelson is back for his 16th visit in 17 editions and is yet to win here.
Tiger Woods decided to skip the event to focus on the PGA Championships in two weeks time, but the field includes the three previous Masters champions, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett.
Also in is Webb Simpson, whose home lies minutes from Quail Hollow, but he has missed past two cuts here.
One of the tougher courses on the Tour, Quail Hollow is Par-71 and 7,554 yards long and has the famous stretch called the 'Green Mile', rated among the toughest on Tour.
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