Dubai-born Rayhan Thomas and Dubai resident Anirban Lahiri are two Indian golfers at different stages of their careers, but both have global ambition, and both see real opportunity for talent from the subcontinent and beyond through the pathway that is being offered by the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Thomas, who has spent the last five years studying at Oklahoma State University before turning professional, finished an impressive eighth last month in a quality field at International Series Morocco, his first tournament as a professional on the Asian Tour.
That result in the third of ten elevated events on the Asian Tour schedule brought an invite to International Series England and a shot at the next bumper $US2 million prize purse at Foxhills Club & Resort.
The tournament once again gave Dubai-born Thomas a “huge” opportunity to assess himself against the cream of the Asian Tour and the marquee names from the LIV Golf League. On this occasion, in alien conditions, Thomas narrowly missed the weekend cut by one. However, he still saw real value in his experience.
“To have this opportunity, to have the invites I got in Morocco, and this week, it is huge for me to have got some tournaments on the schedule,” said Thomas.
“Otherwise it is so up in the air. So if I can play as many as I can of these, it will be huge for my confidence, huge for my game, it gives me an opportunity to progress and play some majors someday.”
Compatriot Lahiri, who holds a Dubai Golden Visa, is one of those big names from the LIV contingent who regularly plays on The International Series. The Crushers GC star is no stranger to the opportunities the Tour brings, having won seven times since joining in 2008 and winning the Order of Merit in 2015.
With The International Series offering ten elite-level events at world-class destinations around the world, Lahiri urged his compatriot to learn fast from the experience.
“It is hard to replace experience. You have to go through a lot of stuff to learn and that is the beauty of The International Series,” said Lahiri.
“You play Morocco, you play the UK, you are going to play in Asia. You are going to play in different conditions, different weather, different grasses, different layouts and that is amazing, because that is what you really need to do as a professional. You have to grow, adapt, learn, and put all these shots and techniques and adjustments in your game.”
“Rayhan has age on his side,” Lahiri added.
“He is young, he is exuberant. He is going to come out fearless, and he is going to come out aggressive, and that is exactly what he needs to do at this time of his career.
“You have got to play whatever you get into. If you have got to play nine weeks in a row, you play nine weeks in a row. If you have got to travel to seven countries in those nine weeks, you do that, right? But at the same time, you must stay in the present, whatever that is.”
Thomas will now turn his focus to the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) after securing an invitation to the Coimbatore Open, which will be held this week from August 14-17.
Later this year he is expected to try and gain full status on one of golf’s main tour, with trips to Korn Ferry, DP World and Asian Tour Qualifying School all pencilled in.
