Always nice to catch up with Anirban, says Shubhankar

From the PGA Tour

Shubhankar Sharma vividly remembers occasions when he would walk 18 holes to watch Anirban Lahiri in action.

It was when Lahiri was establishing himself on the Asian Tour and Sharma dreamt of joining his idol on golf’s professional trail. Both share close ties as it was Lahiri’s father, Dr Tushar Lahiri, who had encouraged Sharma’s father, Col (rtd) Mohan Lal Sharma, to let Shubhankar learn the game of golf all those years back.

Separated by nine years in age, the 31-year-old Lahiri has served as an inspiration for Shubhankar, 22, and this week, they will enjoy a rare opportunity to team up for the first time at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the 27^th event on the PGA Tour’s 2018-19 schedule.

“It’s always nice to catch up with Anirban, always good to hear his advice,” says Sharma.

Budding partnership

The significance of their partnership is not lost as the Presidents Cup, an event which Lahiri has represented the International Team in the last two editions, will be played at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia in December. Both Indians dream of playing together in the premier team competition against the United States, whether it’s later this year or in the years to come.

“We could be playing World Cups together, the Olympics together and the Presidents Cup together. There could be a partnership in team golf between the two of us and I’m very excited,” says Lahiri, now established on the PGA Tour.

“It takes work to build a good partnership and I see the potential between us over a longer period of time.

‘Fearless’

“We are very similar in how we play, he’s very consistent, he’s young … so young that it’s always fun to play with someone so young in terms of age as you’re fearless.

“He goes for pins and he goes straight at every flag. That’s his nature. He believes he can pull off the shots, he’s got the confidence and ability to back up his shots. It’s fun.”

Shubhankar and Lahiri were initially meant to team up at the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf last November but the former withdrew to focus on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit race, which he subsequently won to join Lahiri as only one of five Indian golfers to achieve the feat to date.

Sharma, who holds two European Tour wins, makes no bones about wanting to join Lahiri on the PGA Tour and delivered some eye-catching performances at last year’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and CIMB Classic in Malaysia, where he led or co-led into the final rounds before finishing T9 and T10 respectively.

Strong point

“He’s played at the highest stage,” says Sharma. “He’s got a good overall game, can go low which is his strength.

“He’s influenced me a lot. I feel it can be a great partnership. We communicate really well, there are no egos. We’re great friends and we always share things.

“If we get into the Presidents Cup, that would be the dream but we have to both play well to get there.”

Currently, Lahiri and Sharma are well behind in the International Team standings. Both continue to search for the missing spark in their games but as the saying goes, it only takes one good week in golf to turn the corner.

During the Players Championship last month, Lahiri revealed the need to simply focus on playing good golf rather than establishing goals.

Need for focus

“The Presidents Cup is on my radar but I’ll be honest. I’ve made no world ranking points in the last eight months. I’ve got to focus on playing golf.

“My wife reminded me of 2015 when we played in our first PGA Championship at Valhalla. We didn’t know that there was a (International Team points) list, didn’t know what the qualifying was. You just wanted to play good golf. Everything else is a by-product. That’s what I have to go back to doing,” said Lahiri, who has one top-10 in the 2018-19 season.

Sharma enters the Zurich Classic fresh off a three-week break and in search of good form as well following three top-30s on the European Tour this year.

Hanging out with Lahiri in New Orleans, along with other Presidents Cup International Team hopefuls including team captain Ernie Els, could well deliver the fire needed for the Indian duo to strike top form.

Good advice

Sharma said: “I remember one of the tournaments at home some years ago when I missed the cut and decided to walk with him during the weekend. It was fun to see Anirban play … he was telling me how he had a great start and then messed things up.

“He’d told me to be patient, put in the hard work and I can be a good player. He always has good things to say.”

Ultimately, Lahiri and Sharma need to remain patient before enjoying success again and they know what they do abroad will inspire a new generation of Indian golfers.

“Every time I go back, there’s more awareness,” said Lahiri. “More kids are playing the game now. Over the last three or four years, we’ve seen a lot of kids stepping up from the Indian Tour onto the Asian Tour and with how Shubhankar has played, another new generation of kids is getting inspired.

“It’s great, and that cycle is continuing in the right direction. Hopefully we churn out more kids and talent. We have a lot of potential.”

Els, who took over the team leadership from Nick Price last year, has plenty of admiration for both Indians. “Anirban has become a real steely player in the team. I remember last year, we were almost shut out and we almost played the singles without meaning.

“But he made an unbelievable putt on Saturday to keep the matches alive. He showed a lot of character there,” said Els.

“He’s (Sharma) won a few times around the world in one year and he’s only 22 years old,” added the South African legend.

Follow the action here: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Also read: Baby Tisya brings new motivation, focus for Anirban