Lahiri aims for hat-trick at Indian Open

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India's rising star Anirban Lahiri will be hoping to cap a hat-trick of home victories next week when he tees up at the $1.25 million Indian Open golf tournament.

A win at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) in Bangalore will cap a sensational finale to Lahiri's last appearance on home soil this season.

The event will be staged Oct 18-21.

The 25-year-old started his year on a bright note when he won his second Asian Tour title at the SAIL-SBI Open in February. Since then, he has gone on to enjoy three other top-10 finishes but it was his debut at the British Open in July that put the global spotlight on him.

Besides scoring an ace during his third round, Lahiri went on to finish tied-31st at Royal Lytham and St Annes, well ahead of the likes of former Open champions Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.

"My growth in golf has been slow and steady. I didn't win on the Asian Tour for the first few years and on hindsight, it was probably good for me as I've learnt to appreciate how difficult it is to win," said Lahiri.

"Like how I fared at the Open Championship, I think you got to lose a few times to realise how difficult it is to win. In that sense, I guess it has come at the right time," added the Indian.

Lahiri knows that he will have huge support when he tees off at the Indian Open and he is determined not to disappoint.

"Bangalore is my hometown and it'll be nice if I do really well here. Again, I've got to keep pushing myself and move in the right direction from where I am today. Hopefully, I can do that," said Lahiri.

Other stars expected to feature in the tournament include Ryder Cup star Peter Hanson of Sweden and Richie Ramsay of Scotland as well as England's James Morrison, who is another European Tour winner.