New Delhi, 16-03-2016
Lahiri all set to defend his title at DGC
India’s top star Anirban Lahiri believes he has the winning formula to produce a repeat victory at the US$1.66 million Hero Indian Open which gets underway on Thursday.
As Lahiri, the reigning Asian Tour number one, gets ready to defend his title without a driver when he tees up at the Delhi Golf Club, a venue which is known for its super-tight fairways, Harrington said he will use a driver ‘if necessary’.
After claiming a popular victory at the Hero Indian Open last year, Lahiri will stick to the same routine at the tricky course.
“Over the years if you have a strategy at Delhi Golf Club, you don’t mess with it. It is hard enough playing here so you stick with it. I won’t reinvent a new strategy because my plan works. I just need to execute it better and more efficiently,” said the 28-year-old Lahiri, who has won four titles at the DGC.
“This is one of the events where you want to keep coming back and defending over your lifetime. It is a good feeling to have and you know that it can be done. The whole exercise is to put yourself in the position again come Sunday,” added Lahiri.
Ranked 52nd in the world, Lahiri has laid out his plans for 2016 and a victory this week will give him an extra boost in confidence to achieve his goals.
Despite finishing second on four occasions at the Indian Open, SSP Chawrasia, a three-time Asian Tour winner, remains confident of his chances to win his National Open.
He said, “Honestly, I don’t remember the bad things. I try to remember only the good things and take away the positives from my past experiences over here. So when I start playing tomorrow, I will remember those good things.
“This is a short course, and I am not a very long hitter. So, on this course if you chip and putt well and land the ball straight then you get good results. I try to play safe over here,” said Chawrasia, who was part of Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup earlier this year.
Lahiri and the three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland will headline the field that includes Peter Uihlein of the United States, who has three top-10 results in his last three events, and current Order of Merit leader Marcus Fraser of Australia.
An in-form Scott Hend of Australia, who won in Thailand last week, Filipino rising star Miguel Tabuena, a resurgent Jeev Milkha Singh and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh, the 2013 Hero Indian Open winner, will also feature in the event.
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