What an immense week it is going to be for India’s Anirban Lahiri as he starts his journey as a world top-50 player in the true sense when he tees off at this week’s World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship at the Blue Monster course in Doral.
Lahiri has been the talk of the European Tour these last few weeks as he won the Maybank Malaysian Open, followed by the Hero Indian Open, in the space of three weeks. That took him to No. 2 on the Race to Dubai standings and No. 34 in the official world golf rankings.
But, for those of us who have seen him start on the Indian Tour and then develop while playing on the Asian Tour, we were always sure that he was going to be the one to watch in the future. I have been naming him, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Rashid Khan and Himmat Rai as four young Indian players with special talent and I am delighted Lahiri is living up to my expectations.
The last three years have seen him mature beyond his 27 years. He is a very long hitter of the golf ball but, lately, he has started using brain rather than brawn to his advantage. No other place was that more evident than at Delhi Golf Club, where he has almost become unbeatable despite the narrow fairways and the thick bushes on both sides testing your game like no other course.
I have been asked what I think is Lahiri’s greatest strength. There is no doubt that his skills — in both the long and short games — is comparable to the best, otherwise he would not have reached this far. But I think the most impressive aspect of his golf is the way he manages himself on the golf course. He makes his plans well and then sticks to them.
It’s not just his course management. It is also the way he treats a round of golf mentally. He has a very calm demeanour and, if he gets flustered by mistakes — which I would say is very common for someone his age — he doesn’t show it and gets over the frustration very quickly.
Obviously the media back home is talking about his chances of overcoming my record of reaching the highest ranking for an Indian golfer. He is just six places away from my career best of 28th, and I have no doubt that he will do better than that.
What is now important for Lahiri is to first have that belief that he belongs to the elite level, and then be under no illusion that reaching this point was comparatively easy compared to taking the next few steps. He will now be able to play some of the biggest tournaments in the world and it will be important that he picks and chooses his schedule properly.
I wish him all the best for the WGC-Cadillac Championship, and for what is going to be an extremely exciting year for him, starting with his Masters debut in April.
— Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour
