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Anirban Lahiri scaled a new high when he became the first Indian to finish inside the Top 5 of a Major, when he tied for that position at the prestigious PGA Championships in Kohler (Wisconsin), USA.
Lahiri scored a superb final round of 68, after three earlier rounds of 70-67-70 for a total of 13-under 275. In fact, at one stage, he rose as high as tied third during the day.
The 28-year-old, who made headlines with stunning wins in the Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open in a span of three weeks, will return to the top 50 in the new rankings. Lahiri is also a near-certainty for the International Team for the President's Cup in Incheon, Korea in October.
"This gives me a massive amount of confidence, knowing that I can be out here mixing it up with the best, knowing that I need to get just a little bit better to maybe get closer or over the line in the future. So it's been a huge week for me," Lahiri said after the PGA finish.
Business Standard looks at some of the lesser known facts about the Indian golfer.
1. Lahiri learned to play golf when he was eight years old from his father, Dr Tushar Lahiri, a physician with the armed forces who was also a recreational golfer. “I would just go out there and I would go pick up golf balls for him, and we would go chip, putt for 15 minutes because it was getting dark…. That’s how it all started,” Lahiri told the New York Times in an earlier interview.
2. He played his first sub-junior Golf Tournament in Calcutta in 1998 at the age of 11. He won the Asian Junior Team Championships in 2004.
3. In 2005, a few months before his 18th birthday, he moved to Bengaluru to pursue golf seriously. He was guided by coach and mentor Vijay Divecha at his home club – Eagleton. In three years he had seven consecutive wins, finishing as the top amateur in the 2006-07 season. In this duration he played for India in international events including the World and Asian team championships. He won a silver medal at the team championships in the Doha Asian Games in 2006.
4. He turned professional in 2007 on the Professional Golf Tour of India and finished seventh in the 2007-08 season, winning ‘The Rookie of the Year’ title. He also earned a country spot for the 2008 season on the Asian Tour.
5. Lahiri is a big fan of former world champion Tiger Woods.
6. He is the third Indian to play at the Masters, after Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal. Jeev has figured thrice at the Masters (2007, 2008, 2009), while Atwal has had one appearance there, in 2011.
7. Lahiri has played twice at the British Open (2012 and 2014) and once at the PGA Championship (2014). His best result in a Major is a joint 31st at the British Open in 2012.
