March 5, 2014: Five Indians, including the 2012 qualifier Anirban Lahiri will vie for four coveted spot in The Open2014 through the Open Qualifying Series-Thailand, which gets underway at the Amata Spring Country Club on Thursday.
Seasoned SSP Chowrasia, consistent Rahil gangjee and youngsters Chirag Kumar and Himmat Rai Singh are Indian contenders at the qualifying event.
The two-day qualifying will see leading professionals from around the world tussle it out to be part of The Open Championship, which will be held in July.
[highlight] I had such a great outing when I was given my first opportunity at a Major. I had a hole-in-one and my dad was walking with me. It would be good to have another chance at the Open and hopefully do even better, recalled Lahiri [/highlight]
Lahiri, best placed Indian on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) at 101, had a dream debut at The Open Championship in 2012. He is eager to relive those memories all over again, having made his impression by firing an ace in the third round before going on to finish tied-31st.
“It was quite a dream debut for me at the Open a couple of years back. As a kid, you look at the Majors as the pinnacle of all achievements. You want to play them and contend in them,” said Lahiri.
“I had such a great outing when I was given my first opportunity at a Major. I had a hole-in-one and my dad was walking with me. I couldn’t have asked for anything more than that. It would be good to have another chance at the Open and hopefully do even better,” added the 26-year-old.
Lahiri, who will be part of the elite Team Asia set to take on Europe at the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM in Malaysia later this month, is also buoyed by his return to Amata Spring as it was the same venue which saw him earn his ticket to the Open Championship in 2012.
“Amata Spring is a place that I really fancy. I qualified for the Open at that venue and last year, I finished really well in a strong field event at the Thailand Golf Championship (tied-fourth). I’m looking forward to going back there,” said Lahiri, who finished a career high of third place on the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit.
