Press Trust of India
Shanghai, Nov 4: A rising star looking for opportunities till not so long back, golfer Anirban Lahiri is now aiming to translate those chances into better finishes at the highest level and all that this metamorphosis has taken is a mere 12 months.
The 28-year-old World No. 39, who has already won twice this calendar year on co-sanctioned events is now into the ‘elite’ zone having played at each of the last four Majors and World Golf Championships, besides an appearance at the Presidents Cup and a fifth place at the PGA Championships.
The WGC-HSBC Champions event here will feature close to 40 of the world’s top 50 players including World No.2 and 3 Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, and fellow top 10 stars Rickie Fowler (fifth), Henrik Stenson (seventh) as well as defending champion Bubba Watson (fourth).
Having almost sealed his Asian Tour Order of Merit title, Lahiri admitted here Wednesday that he had a change in his focus.
“Obviously my focus has changed over the last few years. Last year when I was here, it was very important for me to play well in this event because it was one of my first WGCs, and I was playing here for the first time,” Lahiri said.
“I’ve come back 12 months later having played every other WGC, won twice, got my card in America, and suddenly this event becomes critical for me in terms of how I reshuffle my schedule for America and my world rankings going into the end of the year,” he added.
