Anitya Chand: The Masters is a special major

April 05, 2015: The Masters is the talk of the week and Shaili Chopra of Golfing Indian caught up with Anitya Chand, Head Professional at the DLF Golf and Country Club. Here are the excerpts from their conversation.

What are your expectations from The Masters this year?

The Masters is the first major of every year and the only one to be played at the same venue each year – the Augusta National Golf Club. The top players in the world vie for an invitation to play in The Masters and get a chance to win the coveted Green Jacket that is presented to the winner. It will be great to see a leaderboard with some of the top names in the world of golf and a close finish on Sunday.

Which player would you think is likely to don the green jacket?

There are a lot of contenders for the title of Masters Champion 2016. The top three in the world Jason Day, Rory McIlRoy and Jordan Speith have been in great form especially with Jason Day winning recently on Tour. The golf course favors a high draw and poses an advantage for the longer hitters, more so since the extra length added to the course over the last few years. Players like Phil Mickleson and Bubba Watson have a game that suits the course along with great record at Augusta and one can expect to see them in contention as well.

India’s Anirban Lahiri is playing the tournament : how do you think he is poised in the game?

Anirban has firmly established himself in the Top – 50 players of the world over the last year or so. He plays a draw and has the length to match the best in the world. He has also got the experience of playing all the four majors including The Masters. The golf course should suit his game and all of us Indians are looking forward to a fine showing from him.

What are the two things you would like to observe about Lahiri’s form?

Anirban had a great PGA Championship with a Top – 5 finish and has made some good starts in the events he has played on the PGA Tour in 2016. He has the game and am sure the confidence is getting better with every event he plays. I would like to see him put together four consistent rounds of golf as well as see him contend for the title on the final day. I would also like to see him putt well on the super fast and slopy greens at Augusta which are always a challenge.

What makes The Masters so special?

There are many that make it a very special event. From the famous double eagle in its second year after its start to Jack Nicklaus’s famous win in 1986 at age 46 to Sandy Lyle’s fairway bunker shot on 18 which was termed ‘Shot of the Century’ – The Masters has provided us with lots of special moments. Add to the fact that because the event is played on the same course, people identify with the shot and putt that is being played by the professionals especially over the famous ‘Amen Corner’ in the back nine.

What’s your finest memory of The Masters?

This has got to be the record performance by a young Tiger Woods in 1997. Tiger blew away the competition winning the event with a record score of 18 under par and registered a 12 stroke edge in the process. The interesting thing is that Tiger himself was not happy with his performance and was at the range working at improvements the very next morning!