The Champion of the Year says the ring master at the end of The Open each season. The Claret Jug is often considered the greatest prize in golf, especially by Asian and European golfers. The 130th Open will be played at the Royal Troon in Scotland from Thursday next week.
Among the field is Anirban Lahiri, who will be making his fourth Open appearance. Here are a few quick facts about Indian golfers at the Open
– The best performance by an Indian golfer at the Open came in 2004. Jyoti Randhawa finished T27 when the great tournament was also played at the Old Course of Royal Troon, as it is this year.
– Randhawa has made three appearances at the Open. But he missed the cut in 2000 and 2003.
– Gaganjeet Bhullar and Gaurav Ghei will also have fond memories of the tournament. The two men have made just one appearance at a major, which came in 2009 and 1997 respectively.
The best performance by an Indian golfer at the Open came in 2004. Jyoti Randhawa finished T27 when the great tournament was also played at the Old Course of Royal Troon, as it is this year
– This will be Anirban’s fourth appearance at the Open. He finished a creditable T31 on his Open debut in 2012.
– Anirban missed the cut in 2014, but bounced back well finishing T30 last year.
– When Anirban tees off next week at Troon, it will mark his 10th major appearance. He is four behind Jeev Milkha Singh, who holds the Indian record for most major appearances – 14.
– Interestingly, every Indian who has played a major has played the British Open. Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur, Anirban Lahiri, Gaurav Ghei and Gaganjeet Bhullar have 39 appearances between them.
– Only Jeev, Anirban and Arjun Atwal have played at least once at all the four major tournaments.
– The only time two Indians have featured in the weekend of a major also happens to be at the Open. Anirban and Jeev were both in action in the third and fourth rounds of the Open in 2012.
