British Open a huge learning curve, says Anirban Lahiri

BENGALURU: It was a case of so near and yet so far for Anirban Lahiri. Having come close to the lead on a couple of occasions and then messing it up on the home stretch on the final two days of the British Open which ended on Monday has been a huge learning curve for the Indian golfer.
The 28-year-old, who finished tied 30th at the British Open on Monday, is already in Switzerland for the European Masters this week, richer in experience.Excerpts from a chat:
You finished tied 30th in the world's oldest tournament. Are you happy or disappointed?
A bit of both. Overall I'm satisfied that I played decently, but I can't say I'm happy because I played much better than where I actually ended up finishing. I got close to the lead on numerous occasions on the third and fourth days. To drop four shots on the last six holes was painful. If I take that bit out, I would have been even happier but it has been a great learning experience.
Closing holes came to haunt you on the last two days...
It is probably the toughest stretch on the golf course. In that sense everybody was trying to score as heavily as possible on the front nine and the back nine was playing back into the wind. It was playing quite tough. I was not surprised and I was not the only one - a number of people have played badly on the back nine. There are a few things I would have done differently if I had had a little more experience on that course.
You were unlucky to find the fairway bunkers on the last day...
Unlucky, but if I had played that golf course before in those conditions I would have probably taken different lines or different clubs off the tees and made sure I would have avoided those bunkers. That is probably one thing you cannot do at St Andrews, finding the fairway bunkers. And I did that four times in the last two days and each time I made a bogey. I guess sometimes you learn the hard way.
What lessons did you learn?
This is the first time I came close to contending for the top spot in a Major. But I never got to 10 or 11 or 12-under, but I came close. In the third round I was just one shot off the lead when I made the turn for the back nine. Again in the final round at one stage I was inside the top-10. It was a brief taste of what I should be doing more and more often in all these events. In that sense it was good. Also in terms of playing in some extreme wind and weather conditions, it was a big learning curve. Playing in St Andrews for the first time, I learnt what not to do by making these mistakes. Next time I play there I will know what to avoid.
How was it to have your family around?
It was nice to have the entire team, my parents, my coach, my wife, my long-time caddie Rajeev. It was a good moment for me. Playing not just the British Open but at the home of golf and to share it with them was fitting.
What targets have you set for the rest of the season?
No specific target. I feel like my game is coming back and I would definitely like to win once more in the next month or two months and it would give me a fillip to get back into the top-50 and also to kind of establish myself on the Presidents Cup (US vs International team) team. I will try and look to push this week as I like this golf course and have played well here before.
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