Bangalore golfer Anirban Lahiri became the highest-ranked Indian golfer in the world, at 111, following his tied fourth finish at the just-concluded $1 million Thailand Golf Championships.
His Bangkok heroics meant the Vijay Divecha-coached golfer rose 21 places in the world and a notch higher to the fifth position in the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
During the final round in Bangkok, Lahiri was in the esteemed company of World No. 3 Henrik Stenson of Sweden and eight-time USPGA champion Sergio Garcia of Spain only to prove his credentials as a rising star. Garcia scripted asensational four-stroke win with girlfriend Katharina Boehm caddying for him.
Lahiri surpassed the likes of 2006 Doha Asian Games silver medal-winning teammate Gaganjeet Bhullar, Asian Tour honorary member Jeev Milkha Singh, three-time Indian Open champion Jyoti Randhawaand two-time European Challenge Tour winner Shiv Kapur.
Consistency paid for Lahiri, who recorded six top-10 finishes in 2013 besides his SAIL-SBI Open triumph at the Delhi Golf Club. The 25-year-old came close to pocketing a silverware on three different ocassions – Selangor Masters (second), Venetian Macau Open (second) and Hero Indian Open (tied second) – but failed to convert.
However, this development may sound as good news to Lahiri’s ears after he overtook Kapur (ranked 143) and Bhullar (148), both of whom had claimed victories recently albeit on two different Tours. While Kapur won the Dubai Festival Challenge, Bhullar grabbed the Indonesia Open.
Meanwhile, seasoned pro Jeev’s disastrous form made him plummet to 287th in the world even as Randhawa recovered to 395 owing his fifth-place finish in Indonesia.
Other Indians who are within the top-1000 in the world are – SSP Chowrasia (409), Rashid Khan (600), Rahil Gangjee (610), Chiragh Kumar (677), Digvijay Singh (765), Himmat Rai (844) and Arjun Atwal (870).