SINGAPORE: Ace Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri, who has been in the headlines for his back-to-back second-place finishes at LIV Golf Adelaide and the International Series Vietnam in the past couple of weeks, said relocating from the US to Dubai has been a key factor in his current run of form.
The 35-year-old has been going through a tough time, personally, with his mother-in-law suffering from cancer and receiving palliative care. Despite this, last Sunday he mounted an astonishing charge in Adelaide and almost caught winner Talor Gooch, despite starting the day 11 shots behind.
Minutes after shooting his final-round 65, he found out that his mother-in-law had passed away while he was on the course.
Lahiri, the world No. 95, is the highest-ranked Indian golfer in the world, and last year he became the first, and only, player from his country contracted by the Saudi Golf-backed LIV Golf. He immediately made an impact, finishing second to Dustin Johnson following a playoff during his maiden competition in Boston. In September, after giving up his PGA Tour membership, he moved to Dubai from West Palm Beach in Florida.
“It was something I had been thinking about for a long time,” said Lahiri, who is part of the Bryson DeChambeau-led Crushers team in the LIV League.
“Florida was too far away from home (Bengaluru) and I wanted to be closer to my family and friends, and yet be able to play an international schedule and be able to use quality facilities. Dubai ticked all the boxes for me.”
Dubai is about a three-hour flight from Pune, where wife Ipsa’s family lives, and a similar distance from Hyderabad, where his own parents live. The fastest journey from Florida to those cities takes about 20 hours each way.
“It’s hard for me to say if there is a direct correlation (between the move to Dubai and current form) but there definitely is a correlation,” said Lahiri, who finished in the top 15 at the Saudi International in February. “Because, for the whole family to have gone through these last six months, I cannot even imagine how difficult it would have been if we were still living in Florida.
“It’s unfathomable for me to think how, logistically, it would have been possible for my wife, for myself, for my kids and for my parents to help and come together, which you need to do at times like this. I had the luxury of my mom flying down from India twice in the last 45 days because of our emergency. So, moving to Dubai has been fantastic.”
In addition to the clear benefits for his family during this difficult time, he said the move has also helped him personally and professionally.
“I’ve met some amazing people and built some fantastic new relationships,” he explained. “It’s lovely to have a practice environment at Els Club around friends and people who you know and around whom you can let your guard down. Then there is my ability to fly in and out and be more mobile for my family, which would not have been possible if I wasn’t in Dubai.
“So there are so many things. But yes, I think Dubai has fit into that puzzle perfectly to allow us to be able to get through these last few months.”
Lahiri is now hoping to his sizzling run of form will continue at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore when the LIV Golf action tees off on Friday.
“I have played Sentosa a few times in the past, and I know one thing for certain: You cannot come to this golf course without your A-game,” he said.
“So, even though it hasn’t been easy these last few days and I am so looking forward to be in India and support my wife during the post-death rituals, the good thing is that I am swinging it really well.
“I have had a different perspective of life these last few weeks and I have been counting my blessings. Honestly, I have played in Vietnam and Adelaide without once bothering if I made a bogey or a double. In the grand scheme of things, it does not really matter. Golf is too trivial a thing for me right now. It has made me play fearlessly and without thinking of consequences.
“If I can have the same mindset again this week, I am sure I can post another good result.”
