NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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It’s a beautiful day when an intriguing gear story factors into one of golf’s biggest events. Add in the prospect of a curry dinner being involved and there isn’t much more we could ask for.
Anirban Lahiri came into the Players Championship as the No. 322 player in the world, having gone 15 consecutive events without posting a finish better than T40. In his previous starts leading up to TPC Sawgrass, Lahiri combined to go 24-over in 10 rounds.
Desperate to kickstart his dreadful iron play – Lahiri came into the Players week ranked No. 212 in strokes gained approach – he decided to add about 3.5 grams of lead tape to each of his irons in the lead-up to the event. There was no specific reason for the switch other than wanting to feel something different and gain slightly more face awareness due to the added weight.
“We thought and talked about it and I said, ‘Let's experiment,’” Lahiri explained in his press conference before the final day. “It can't be worse than what it is. I've been hitting it so bad, to be honest. I was like, ‘You know what? Let's just throw some lead tape on and see what happens,’ because I've felt like I'm swinging good, and yeah, it made a huge difference.”
Lahiri gained 5.6 strokes with his approach play overall through the first three rounds of the Players, and he came one stroke short of victor Cameron Smith. It launched him to No. 89 in the world, a handsome reward for a player willing to take an equipment risk.
That’s not where his gear story ends, however. Lahiri is using Srixon Z945 irons, a model introduced in 2014. The clubs are no longer produced, but Lahiri feels too comfortable with the sticks to change at this point.
Lahiri has been searching for as many sets as he can find. Srixon recently gave him one of the last few sets, and he is six months into using it.
“It's been a hard time for me to procure them,” Lahiri said. “I think a lot of us on tour, once we get set on how some of these irons look, we want to stick to them.”
A week earlier, when Lahiri was at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he received another set from longtime Srixon staffer Graeme McDowell, who happened to have that model on hand at his home in Orlando. The official trade had irons heading Lahiri’s way and Indian food heading McDowell’s way.
“I told him I'd take him for a nice curry dinner,” Lahiri said. “I know he likes it, so yeah, he's up for that.”
Among other gear notes from Ponte Vedra Beach, Dustin Johnson made yet another putting change by going to a TaylorMade TP Bandon 3. It’s the first time Johnson had used that model, although he did use a Bandon 1 putter at the RBC Heritage last year. He quietly shot 63 in the final round of the Players and finished tied for ninth.
We reported last week that Scottie Scheffler’s heralded Nike VR Pro Limited 3-wood is heading out of his bag because of his new TaylorMade deal. He had a 16.5-degree Stealth fairway wood in his bag during practice rounds at the Players, but ultimately stuck with the VR Pro for at least one more week. He did confirm the club will eventually come out of his bag for good, ending a decade-long run that dates back to his high school years.
Sean Fairholm