Special feature by Anand Datla
April 02, 2015: The world is a very beautiful place for Anirban Lahiri, as he sails away into the distance for a lengthy sojourn. In Houston this week, the world No.33 is looking to prepare himself for the real test that comes next week at the Masters. But as he left home on Friday, the Indian must have packed up well enough to last the nearly five month tour that will take him through USA and Europe. The golfer from Bengaluru is set to play a full season of marquee events, including the four major championships.
It is a stiff test, even for a man who has been gaining altitude at breakneck speed. At the Shell Houston Open, Lahiri will get a taste for the rye grass that will confront him at the Masters on a course that has many parallels with the design at the Augusta National. That should help him prepare better for the Masters, but Lahiri will need to focus well and ensure he makes the weekend in Houston.
As he departed from the familiar comforts of his cosy home in Bengaluru, Lahiri was as occupied with packing right as he was with any thoughts of being on the TOUR. “It’s going to be a lot of hotels, a lot of looking at the same suitcase every day for a long time,” Lahiri said. “I opened up my closet and I’m saying, ‘Oh, I can’t really take a lot of stuff with me. I wanted to take all six pairs of shoes. I can’t. I want to take this jacket or I want to take that shirt. I can’t. I spoke to a lot of my friends who live here or have lived here and they said, ‘Just take your essentials and go buy stuff.’”
Even though Lahiri is in Houston on a sponsor’s invite, maintaining his ranking will earn him more than a fair amount of opportunities this year to earn him the he covets most.
Video: Anirban Lahiri spoke to the media at the Shell Houston Open
Lahiri seems to be impressed with the course and conditions at the Golf Club of Houston, which takes its role as a lead up event to the Masters rather seriously. The course has a low rough and quick greens, just as they come at Augusta. It is the kind of preparation that Lahiri needs just ahead of the big event next week.
