Ponte Vedra Beach, March 15: For the first time in his career, India’s Anirban Lahiri will see some weekend action at THE PLAYERS Championship. His wish now is for his putter to get hot.

The 31-year-old Lahiri came back on Friday morning to safely negotiate a four-foot par putt and complete a first round two-under 70 at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. After a brief wait, he went back out to post a second round 71 which saw him making the halfway cut after three previous failed attempts in the PGA TOUR’S flagship tournament.

“I hit the ball better than yesterday but I didn’t convert the opportunities that I got. I think I didn’t play that well on the par fives, one wayward shot on 11 (into the water) to start the day, but other than that I just feel like I left a lot of putts out there. The greens were running so much better that I should have made a few more,” said Lahiri.

With one top-10 on the PGA TOUR this season which he registered in Mexico last November, Lahiri is eager to make up ground on the leaders in the third round on Saturday morning.

He has been pleased with his ball-striking display after making tweaks in recent times in an effort to regain its consistency but realises his flat stick needs to improve drastically after making just 56 feet of putts during his second round.

“I just feel like my pace has been off this week, left a lot of 20, 25 footers short and running a lot of nine to 15 footers through the breaks a little bit. I need to work on that. Otherwise I’m happy with the way I’m hitting the ball and the confidence is growing. I’m hitting my iron play, which has been I would say an area of concern over the last few months. I’m beginning to see the shots that I want to hit, so, yeah, lots of positives,” said Lahiri, who is a two-time Presidents Cup International Team member.

“I never played the weekend on this track, which has been an irritation to say the least, especially after last year’s debacle. But I feel like I’ve kind of put a lot of demons to rest with my ball striking because that’s been the bigger concern. If anything, I’ve putted way below average over the last two days. And usually when I haven’t putted well I haven’t shot good scores. So to see some consistency return thanks to my ball striking is a big positive and I just need the putter to get hot and I can go really low.“

Meanwhile Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat redeemed himself with a second round 69, a 15-shot improvement following a disastrous opening 84.

Kiradech, the first Thai to hold a PGA TOUR card, made six birdies, including one on the signature par-three 17th hole which has proven to be a bane in his two appearances in the event.

Following his punctuated week here, the 29-year-old will take next week off before teeing up at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin Country Club, Texas from March 27 to 31. Kiradech qualified for the quarter-finals last year.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand

He found some solace with his career third round in the 60s at TPC Sawgrass. “The way I’m playing is not much different from yesterday. I struck the ball quite well yesterday, hit it on target but my short game was quite disappointing. It was below my standard. I couldn’t get up and down from anywhere and my putting, I couldn’t hole putts,” said Kiradech.

“After I finished the first round, I was still confused and couldn’t figure out how I shot 12-over with the way I’m striking the ball. I hit it very similar today, hit it good. I’m actually happy with the way I’m playing.”

Teeing up in the morning on Friday presented calmer conditions for Kiradech who birdied three of the par-3 holes, including holing a 12-footer on 17 which he had made a double bogey five on Thursday. In his debut here last year, Kiradech was six-over on that hole which included a double bogey and quadruple bogey.

“I just wanted to go out there to make birdies and prove that I can play on this golf course,” said Kiradech. “At the end of yesterday, I almost gave up after a nearly six-hour round on a difficult golf course. It’s just one bad day and I turned it around nicely today and hopefully this three under will help build some confidence and momentum.

“There’s a lot of golf left this season. My mental coach always says it’s not the end of the world … who knows I might win in the next few weeks. Seeing a 15-stroke difference today, it’s not the end of the world.”

Kiradech will take it easy at his new base in Orlando before flying to Austin for the US$10.25 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. This will only be his second week off this year since the middle of January, with THE PLAYERS being his fifth week on the road.

“I’m looking forward to a week off. It feels like my back is against the wall, but I don’t think it can get any worse than this. I had a top-five in Austin last year, so maybe aim for a win when I get back there,” said Kiradech, who has two top-fives on the PGA TOUR this season and is currently ranked 48th on the FedExCup points list.

Ends.