It’s been a long journey for Anirban Lahiri, the rising hope of Indian, and Asian, golf. The son of an army doctor, who started playing golf on courses he calls ‘goat tracks’, and admitted to being completely flummoxed when he first played a proper grassed course at the age of 12 and saw the ball sitting up nicely on the fairway, was playing the greatest tournament in the world on the greatest golf course in the world last week.
Lahiri, who turned 28 last month, finished tied 30th at the 144th Open Championship – his best result in a major. Winner of two European Tour events earlier this year, he surged into the world top-50, which pitched him into the big league and gave him the chance to compete against the best players in the world week-in and week-out. He has struggled a bit since then, but feels that is mostly because of adjusting to new golf courses.
Now ranked 61st in the world, Lahiri is happy to add more and more experience to his bank. Known for his immense belief in the power of yoga, and as someone who is a strategist on the golf course, Lahiri gave an insight into the recent happenings in his life.
Given the way you hit the ball during the Open, a tied 30th place must have been disappointing?
Of course it is disappointing. On the back nine during the final round, I just kept finding fairway bunkers and kept putting myself in bad positions.
I definitely expected better after the first two rounds. It showed in the wind that I probably didn’t hit the right clubs off some of those tees, probably didn’t take the right lines on some of my shots. I guess it should have been at least two or three shots better, but I will learn from it.
Having said that, it was a very positive week for me. I did not shoot a single round over par at a major, which is a massive positive. I’ve not been in great form coming into this week and I feel like the form is returning. I feel better mentally as well.
With you slipping out of the top-50, and also falling back in the Presidents Cup standings, this stretch to the PGA Championship has become massive hasn’t it?
The second half of the year is where most of the action happens, so to speak. I think this is the most important stretch of the year, at least from the standpoint of what’s to come for me personally, which is obviously the chance to get back into the top-50, and then there is the Race to Dubai, which is equally important.
One final push. Will enjoy myself today @TheOpen @TheHomeofGolf and try my heart out. Cheer for me people #GoIndia #AsiaRising
— Anirban Lahiri (@anirbangolf) July 20, 2015
In The Presidents Cup, which is not too far away, I’ve slipped a long way down that list, so I need to pull up my socks and play well the next few weeks to make sure that I put myself in the team.
I have planned to play the Web.com finals to get my card in America, so if I do that, I’m going to be missing a few events on this side, so I need to make sure that I put myself in a decent position before I cross over.
You have played a lot of majors and big events this year. Are you comfortable on the big stage now?
I don’t see much of a difference between me and the top players. Obviously, there is a difference, which is why I’m not 13- or 14-under in the Open, and that difference is probably managing the golf course better and putting better. That’s where the course management comes in because when you hit it in these traps and you get bitten, that’s when you realise how far away you have to stay from them.
I played the final round with Paul Lawrie, who is a past champion and has played the Old Course many, many times. He was so comfortable on the greens. It took him five seconds to know exactly which way the putts were breaking, and I was trying to do trigonometry to figure it out. It does speak volumes of what experience does.
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About a year ago, there was an interesting stat of how well you played over the weekend, especially Saturday, where your average was close to 68. That is one thing missing this last year. Is it some kind of a mindset?
I don’t think it’s something that I would overthink about. When you are going to contend or when you’re going to win, it’s important to play well on the weekend.
I think if you look at Malaysia, this year it was a 62 on the weekend, on a Saturday. You look at the Indian Open it was probably a 67 on a Saturday. If you’re going to look at tournaments where I’ve done well, you have to play well on the weekends, and I don’t think it’s missing. I just don’t think it’s as consistent as it was maybe a couple of years back.
But you look at the profile of the events that I’ve played and the courses that I’ve played, and you’ll see that those were not new tracks I was playing on. I was not trying to learn or understand the courses, which has been the case this year.
With so much expected from you as the leading Indian and Asian golfer, do you feel the weight of expectation?
I think the only weight I feel is of my own expectations. To be honest, if I do well, it helps the game in India and Asia, but if I do poorly, it makes no difference. So for me, I have to focus on what I need to do.
Probably, going to America and playing a lot of these events is something I need to do, because I’ve gotten more exposed to different levels of golf at different tournaments.
It’s been a lot to deal with, honestly, because February was the best month for me for a long time professionally (when he won the two European Tour events). Then March to July, it’s been five months since, and I think I’ve aged about three years in these five months.
Last month, I turned 28, and I was looking in the mirror, and I thought, ‘Holy hell, I’ve got white hairs in my sideburns’.
What are you doing differently now?
Well, for one thing, I’ve gone media dead. That’s something I’ve decided to do consciously. I’ve kind of withdrawn. I think I was doing too much initially, especially when in India and there is always some request or the other for interviews. It was taking away from what I needed to do on the range and on the golf course.
I make sure I am available for the media after rounds and before tournaments because I owe it to everyone who wants to know or whoever is interested in me.
