Anirban Lahiri at PGA Championship

Anirban Lahiri is looking for a solid week of golf at the PGA Championships in Kentucky, after being laid low by illness at the Open Championships at Hoylake a few weeks ago. The Indian is ranked 87th in the world and a good run at the Valhalla Golf Club could give him a leg up as the season reaches its climactic stages.

The entry this week marks the Indian’s debut at the final major of the season. Having missed the cut at Hoylake, Lahiri will be looking to make amends by progressing to the final round at Valhalla. The Indian has recovered recently from a bout of chicken pox and is apparently in good shape for the challenge that lies ahead of him.

Lahiri reached the venue of the PGA Championship ahead of the others looking to give himself a good look at the course. “I played a practice round on Saturday and I’m super excited and really looking forward to doing well. I have just recovered and I’m slowly getting back to practice. Hopefully I can put in a memorable performance at Valhalla,” Lahiri told the Asian Tour. “I’m slowly getting into tournament mode. I was feeling quite jet lagged but I’m feeling better after a good night’s rest.”

Lahiri hasn’t been able to build on his early success this season, having taken time out to marry his long time companion. In April this year, Lahiri won the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters. He had to cut short his honeymoon in Mauritius, when he learnt of his entry into the Open Championships in July.

“The course is a Jack Nicklaus course so it is like the courses we are used to playing in Asia but obviously the grasses are totally difficult so it is something which I will need to adjust to,” explained Lahiri. Though he is yet to miss a cut on the Asian Tour in six outings this year, his failure to reach the weekend at Hoylake must be spurring on the Indian to a good performance this week.

“It was a great experience. I played quite decent on the back nine but made some mistakes and could have shot a better round. Playing at The Open will go into the experience kitty and it’ll help me grind it out in the future,” assured Lahiri.

Among other Asians  at the PGA Championship this week are Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, Thongchai Jaidee, K.J. Choi and Y.E. Yang of Korea, South Africa’s Ernie Els and Noh Seung-yul of Korea.

Editing by Anand Datla based on a report from the Asian Tour

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Pic: Asian Tour Website