I have the game to win anywhere: Lahiri

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Anirban Lahiri

Having achieved all three of his Asian Tour victories at home soil, Anirban Lahiri will be keen to win his first such title outside India at this week’s $750,000 CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters in Jakarta.

Lahiri will be one of the stars in the full field Tour event, that gets under way at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club on Thursday.
“I have the game to win anywhere, whether it’s India, Indonesia or Malaysia or even in Europe. For me, the focus is to go out there, enjoy my golf and just stick to the basics and keep it in play,” said Lahiri, who finished fifth in last year’s edition. The moment we get onto the golf course, we’re not thinking about factors like whether I’ve won here or there, it just trying to hit the best possible shot and focus on what you need to do. That’s really critical for all of us, whether we come here or any other country.”
The Royale Jakarta Golf Club being a long-hitters’ delight, Lahiri said the course suited his game style.
“I remember coming here a few years ago and I didn’t do very well. I was trying very hard and last year, I kind of eased into the golf course and let it happen. I think I got to do more of the same this year. It’s a little more demanding off the tee because the roughs are a little higher and it’s going to be a good challenge,” added the 25-year-old who has won the Sail-SBI Open this season.
With big names like Ernie Els of South Africa, the Open Championship winner, Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, Australian Scott Hend, Thai Thongchai Jaidee, Simon Dyson of England among others to be part of the field, Lahiri said it will be yet again a learning experience. There’s so much confidence to be drawn when we get a chance to play with some of the biggest names in golf. There’s so much learning on the golf course from these great guys. I had the opportunity to play with a number of them now and it has really helped in my self-belief,” he said.
Among other Indians to be seen in action will be Asian Tour winners Jyoti Randhawa, Digvijay Singh, Chiragh Kumar, Himmat Rai, Shiv Kapur besides PGTI regulars Shankar Das, Ajeetesh Singh Sandhu, and youngster Abhijit Singh Chadha.