THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 19, 2021

Anirban Lahiri

Liberty National Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. Great round today, if you just can assess your round and how you felt today out there.

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think I played really well. I hit my irons really good today, and you needed to. I think conditions were extremely hard. I don't think it's getting any easier. So you just have to do everything good. You have to hit it in the fairway to start, and then the course is going to ask you some questions with your mid and long irons, and you just have to answer them.

I did feel like I didn't putt very well. I had a lot of chances, gave myself a lot of looks. Probably left two, three shots out there, but all in all, I'm satisfied with my shot.

Q. Did you feel there's any major differences aside from how wet the course was today? Any major differences on how you practiced on the first two days until today?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I just think early in the morning, there was no moisture, there was no humidity. As that started going out of the golf course -- it's obviously extremely windy, and I think once we got to like 9:00, 10:00 a.m., the moisture started going out. I think the ball was moving more sideways from the wind early on, and then when the humidity went down or the temperature went up, however you look at it, it started behaving a little differently, started going a little further.

So you had to kind of adapt on the fly. I think also the greens, as they started drying out, probably turning a little bit more, maybe getting a touch faster.

Yeah, you have to stay sharp out there because the course is changing and will probably continue to change by the end of the day. It will be interesting to see if we get any rain or how it is overnight because tomorrow will be completely different.

Q. And correct me if I'm wrong, but last time you were at playoffs was 2018?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Yes.

Q. How does it feel to be back?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: It's nice. It feels familiar. It feels like home. It feels like where I should be year after year. It doesn't really feel odd or feel new in that sense, but, yeah, like I said, I've come into this playoffs feeling really good about my game. It's been a good place.

So I'm trying to build on that and just build some momentum as I go through this.

Q. Did you prepare any differently this time around from last time?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I'm just trying to sleep more, I think. The kind of schedule I've been on, the amount of tournaments I've played in, the miles that I've clocked, it's about managing energy for me right now, and that's what I'm focusing on. I know I'm playing well. I know most departments of my game are in good health. So it just comes down to staying on top of that, kind of managing the areas where I feel like I need to improve a little bit, and just trying to stay as fresh as possible.

A golf course like Liberty National, especially when it gets windy like this, it demands a lot of mental energy. You have to be sharp mentally, and that's what I'm trying to do this week.