Saturday, February 25th: Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri maintains his score, registered a seven-under 68 to finish in fourth place at the end of the second round at the Honda Classic. Lahiri fits in better in his adopted home of Palm Beach Gardens, where he is playing in his own neighborhood. 

 

"I'm sleeping in my own bed,'' Lahiri said after a second-round 68 put him in solo fourth place at the Honda Classic, 2 shots back of 36-hole co-leaders Ryan Palmer and Wesley Bryan. "I'm just down the road here in PGA National. I don't play regularly out here, but I do live here. So it feels like a home event.'' 

 

                                                       In the photo: Anirban Lahiri 

 

Before last week's Genesis Open in Los Angeles, he played the Maybank Championship in Malaysia. Prior to that, he was at the Dubai Desert Classic. Before that, it was the CareerBuilder Championship in Palm Springs, which followed the Sony Open in Hawaii.

 

Prior to the end of the year, Lahiri played tournaments in the U.S. (Georgia), Mexico, Turkey, Malaysia, Macao, Indonesia, Germany and Brazil -- where he competed in the Olympics for India.

 

"This week, the body feels a lot better,'' said Lahiri, 29, who was born in Pune, India, and still has an apartment in his home country. "Definitely more on time. Eating home food, sleeping in your own bed makes a big difference, and it's just nice. The weather's great, and it feels really nice to be back here.''

 

Lahiri said he moved to PGA National in April and hadn't played the tournament course since the 2016 event. He spent a month here in August when dealing with an injury, then also spent the brief offseason in Florida before leaving for Hawaii.

 

"It was just a matter of weather, really,'' said Lahiri, who was tied for seventh after Saturday's play last week at the Genesis Open. "I don't do well in the cold. This was a no-brainer for me in terms of the golf. I like to go out and work on my game, so I needed the weather to be supportive of that. That was one of the reasons why my wife and I decided to pick this spot.''

 

Lahiri is a member of the nearby Bear's Club -- he was approved for membership by Jack Nicklaus himself -- and uses that as his primary place to practice.

 

But his time at home will be short. Lahiri is headed back to India in two weeks to play in the Hero Indian Open on the European Tour, which takes place the same week as the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour.

 

"If you look at the schedule, it doesn't make sense,'' he said. "We are in Florida. I can drive up to Tampa and Bay Hill and take it easy, but I feel responsible. I definitely feel like I owe it go back and play the Indian Open.

 

"I saw last year the number of kids that came out. It's definitely growing. I feel like I've kind of moved from being on the other side of the ropes, looking in, to being on this side of the ropes, looking out, what I looked like 10 years ago as a kid myself. I do as much as I possibly can to grow [the game].''

 

Alas, there will be no rest in India, either. Afterward, Lahiri will be back to Florida for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which starts March 16.