By Rahul Banerji
India’s top golfers Anirban Lahiri and Aditi Ashok head for the Tokyo Olympic Games boosted by power performances on the PGA Tour and LPGA respectively this week.
While Lahiri finished in the top three at the Barbasol Championship on Sunday with a stunning 7-under round, Aditi and her Thai partner Pajaree Anannarukarn also took a top-3 placing in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, in Michigan, a day earlier.
Both Olympians, in line for their second Summer Games, will be encouraged by this week’s performances that suggests a tinely uptick in form.
While Lahiri leaves for Tokyo by the end of the week, Aditi will play the Evian Championship in France before jetting out for Japan.
This will be her 18th appearance in a Major, the most such by an Indian.
On Sunday, Lahiri made eight birdies, including four over his closing five holes, at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville to end his week on 20-under par 268, one stroke behind Seamus Power and J.T. Poston.
Ireland’s Power outlasted his American opponent in a six-hole playoff for his first PGA Tour title.
Overall, this has been an encouraging spell for Indian golf around the world.
On a roll
On the Ladies European Tour, Tvesa Malik and Diksha Dagar too have showed strong form in recent weeks.
At the Gant Ladies Open in Finland, Tvesa shared second place three shots behind winner maiden winner Matilda Castrens.
On Saturday, the Indian had a final round of 68 to finish runner-up alongside Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom while Diksha tied for fourth place on one-under-par along with Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul and Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord.
The previous week saw Diksha win her second LET title at the Aramco Team Series in London to set off a remarkable spell of success by Indians.
In Kentucky, Lahiri had the triple pleasure of a season’s best performance, sealing his FedEx Cup playoffs berth in August and retaining his PGA Tour card for next year.
The 34-year-old matched his best-ever round of 7-under on a day vital to his hopes that gave him a third top-three finish on the PGA Tour.
It was a welcome return to form for the Bangalore boy who went through a rough Covid-19 patch in April.
The Barbasol finish moved him up from 129th to 108th on the FedExCup standings with the top 125 qualifying for the lucrative FedExCup Playoffs in August.
The ranking also helped Lahiri retain his Tour card.
On a high
“I think all week, I’ve played a little better than the scores I’ve shot,” the Tour quoted Lahiri as saying.
“I’m really happy with how I played. To finish like that was really important, just with rating myself on the FedEx Cup.
“Next week, I’m off to Tokyo, so I wanted to make sure that I get the most out of this week.
“I’ve done whatever I could, given the circumstances,” added Lahiri, who has been on the PGA Tour since 2016.
Lahiri’s rounds of 68, 67, 68 and 65 marked the first time he has shot in the 60s in all four rounds of a tournament since finishing tied 10th in the 2018 Mayakoba Classic in Mexico.
He was especially pleased with his ball-striking, ranking in the top-15 for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Approach to the Green and with the putter, he was fourth at the event.
After an opening birdie on the third hole from eight feet, Lahiri sank a 32-foot conversion at the next before finishing strongly with six more birdies on his homeward stretch against a lone bogey on 13.
“I really needed those,” said Lahiri of his strong finish.
‘Well set up’
“I really enjoyed it. The golf course obviously is set up for a ton of birdies and eagles, so you better be flag hunting and rolling it good. All in all, a great week,” said the former two-time International Team member of the Presidents Cup.
At Tokyo, Lahiri will be up against a stellar line-up featuring newly crowned Open champion Collin Morikawa, world no. 1 Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Xander Schaufffele, Rory McIlroy and local hero Hideki Matsuyama.
“It’s exciting to be wearing the Tricolour. It’s always a really, really special thing to represent India.
“Every opportunity that I get, I’m going to grab it with both hands, and hopefully I can go with this form to Tokyo and keep making these birdies because I’m going to need them,” said Lahiri, who finished 57th fin a field of 60 in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.
“It would mean everything (to win a medal). I think it would change the way golf is perceived in India. I think it would change the kind of support we get from corporates and the government. It will make the kids want to play more.
“It would have similar impact to winning a Major even. I think the Olympics is the most watched sporting spectacle in the world and definitely more so in India.
“More people would watch an Olympic event than just a regular PGA Tour event in India.
“That’s a great opportunity for me to give back to the game and bring some glory to the country,” he said.
Also read: Lahiri on the up as Cam Davis wins amid top-order drama
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.