Column by Anand Datla
July 13, 2015: Anirban Lahiri will have plenty of company this week, with nearly his entire family out in St. Andrews to watch India’s prodigal golfer try and tease the best from his undoubted potential. As the bugle sounds for The Open this week at St. Andrews, Lahiri will be rubbing shoulders with the best in the business.
Realistically, Lahiri may not be in the hunt for the most prized golfing silver on the planet. It is more about earning a respectable finish – remember he was T31 on his debut at the Royal Lythm in 2012.
The presence of Ajay Divecha, Lahiri’s mentor and good friend will help the golfer gain some perspective and insight about his game through the course of this week. The 28 year old is a man of relationships and all the travel helps accentuate the value of their presence during the British Open.
“My family is going to be there and my coach will be there as well. This trip is very special as my mother and father will be present for the first time at a professional event and of course, my wife,” informed Lahiri during his short break in Bengaluru after the Open de France.
His wife, Ipsa Jamwal has been a constant source of support for Lahiri. “She has been fantastic. It’s great to have her by my side. The last couple of months have been fantastic. We recently celebrated a year of our marriage and it’s wonderful for me to have her especially for my trips to America because it’s very different from the Asian Tour where I know everyone,” said Lahiri.
On Thursday though, Lahiri will be on his own once he starts playing his first round. That is when he might start experiencing goosebumps, knowing that he is walking the most hallowed field of golf on our planet.
Every step he takes this week could be life altering, as every golfer at The Open might happily acknowledge. And Lahiri seems to have taken fondly to the presence of Ipsa on his march around golf courses.
“It’s very important to have the kind of company and support that I get from my wife especially when one is travelling. She takes care of me and has been wonderful,” said Lahiri.
Tiger Woods has already said that the course this year is playing slower and softer than he has ever seen at the St. Andrews. That should help Anirban’s game, for he shall be chasing far fewer balls than he may have on the dust bowls that greeted golfers in the past.
The week is also expected bring in more rain, perhaps making the course softer as the week progresses. That might make the fairways easier, but putting can turn tricky on two paced greens. None of that will matter too much though for a man like Lahiri.
The Indian takes immense pride in his game – and in the presence of Vijay, his parents and Ipsa – Lahiri will be playing just as much for memories as he might be playing for honour. As we have seen in the final round of the Masters, when Lahiri went bogey free through 18 holes to sign off with his head held high.
He might be looking for a similarly resilient show in Scotland, proud as he is of his place in the game of golf. Lahiri is a young man with a refined understanding of golf and the opportunities that surround him.
But then he has been patchy at best in recent weeks. Missed cuts and miserable rounds have left him cold heading into the Open. A missed cut at Gullane wasn’t an ideal set up for the biggest event in golf, but that may have afforded him some additional time to adapt his game to the challenges this week.
His friends and family will walk with the golfer from close range, but an equally enthusiastic collection of fans from India will be watching and praying eagerly for Lahiri to tee off this week.
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- In this article
- anand datla
- anirban lahiri
- the open
