Anirban Lahiri
Lahiri at the Alstom Open de France in 2015
Personal information
NicknameBaan
Born (1987-06-29) 29 June 1987 (age 36)
Pune, India
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sporting nationality India
ResidencePalm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Spouse
Ipsa Jamwal Lahiri
​
(m. 2014)​
Children2
Career
Turned professional2007
Current tour(s)Asian Tour
LIV Golf
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Professional Golf Tour of India
Professional wins18
Highest ranking33 (29 March 2015)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Asian Tour7 (Tied 9th all time)
Other12
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT42: 2016
PGA ChampionshipT5: 2015
U.S. OpenCUT: 2015, 2016, 2019
The Open ChampionshipT30: 2015
Achievements and awards
Professional Golf Tour of India
Order of Merit winner		2009
Asian Tour
Players' Player of the Year		2014, 2015
Asian Tour
Order of Merit winner		2015
Medal record
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Men's team

Anirban Lahiri (born 29 June 1987) is an Indian professional golfer. He has played on the Asian Tour, European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf. He was awarded the 2014 Arjuna Award[2][3] and was also the recipient of the "Sera Bangali" award in 2015, given by the Anandabazar Patrika.[4]

Early life

Lahiri hails from a Bengali family. He learned to play golf at the age of eight from his father, Dr. Tushar Lahiri, who was a physician with the armed forces and a recreational golfer.[5]

Professional career

Lahiri joined the Asian Tour in 2008. He picked up his first victory in 2011 at the Panasonic Open and his second victory in 2012 at the SAIL-SBI Open. His best finish on the Order of Merit came in 2014 with his maiden overseas win on the Asian Tour - CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters which he later followed up with another one at the Venetian Macau Open. He finished 3rd on the Order of Merit in 2013.

Lahiri broke into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in March 2014 following a consistent season which included two victories on the Asian Tour.

Lahiri has also had a lot of success on the Professional Golf Tour of India, where he has won eleven events and the Order of Merit in 2009.[6]

The big break came for him when qualified for his maiden major tournament – the 2012 Open Championship at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire. He made it a most memorable outing, first by making the cut (68-72) and then with a hole-in-one at the par-3 9th hole in the third round en route to a T31 finish.

In February 2015, Lahiri claimed his first official win on the European Tour at the Maybank Malaysian Open, with a one stroke victory over Bernd Wiesberger. He shot a 10-under-par round of 62 during the third round to position himself going into the final day and came from four shots behind to prevail by one shot. Later the same month, Lahiri won his second event on the European Tour in his home country of India, at the Hero Indian Open. He came from seven strokes behind in the final round to force a playoff with Shiv Chawrasia, which he won with a birdie on the first extra hole. The two wins shot Lahiri into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking qualifying him for the 2015 Masters Tournament. He was labelled as a "rookie to watch" and the "new face of Indian golf." He is the third Indian national to play in the Masters,[7] after Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal.[8] He made the cut at his first appearance and ended the tournament with scores of 71-75-74-72 on his four rounds, leaving him tied for 49th with Jason Dufner.[9]

In August 2015 at the PGA Championship which took place at Whistling Straits, Lahiri posted rounds of 70-67-70-68 for a score of −13. Despite a bogey at the 72nd hole, Lahiri finished in a tie for fifth place in the tournament and set a new record for the highest finish by an Indian professional golfer in a major.[10] The top five finish on Sunday capped a memorable week in Wisconsin for Lahiri, whose performance catapulted him to 38th in the world golf ranking.[11] He also won the PGA of America's pre-tournament long-drive contest on the Tuesday, hitting a 327-yard drive that won him a traditional gold money clip and a $25,000 charitable donation in his name. His performance set multiple records for an Indian golfer; he became the first Indian to shoot sub-par scores in all four rounds in a major, his total of 13-under was the best relative to par by an Indian at any major and his five-under 67 in the second round was also the best round by an Indian at any major.[12]

Lahiri was named to the 2015 Presidents Cup squad, the first player from India to earn the honor. Lahiri attempted to qualify for the PGA Tour through the 2015 Web.com Tour Finals after earning enough non-member points to qualify. He was the highest-ranked player in the Finals, 40th at the start of the four-event tournament. Lahiri only played in the first two events, but earned enough for a PGA Tour card. He notched his first top-10 of the 2016 PGA Tour season with a T-6 finish at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational.

Lahiri also qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics, earning a spot in the field of 60 players to compete at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro. He also led for the first time after 54 holes in a PGA Tour event during the CIMB Classic in 2017, finishing T-3. He would go on to achieve his best PGA Tour finish of T-2 at the 2017 Memorial Tournament. Lahiri was once again named in the 2017 Presidents Cup team. Lahiri finished the 2017 PGA Tour season finishing a career high 51st in the FedEx Cup standings. In the 2018 PGA Tour season, Lahiri shot his lowest round on the PGA Tour, a 61 at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.[13] His best finish was a T-5 at the CJ Cup in the 2018 PGA Tour season. Anirban struggled in the 2019 season and ended up losing his PGA Tour card by finishing outside the top 125 of the FedEx Cup. He gained his PGA Tour card back for the 2020 season through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals by finishing 10th in the overall standing.[14] Lahiri struggled on the 2020 PGA Tour and finished 219th in the FedEx Cup standings, playing less than 15 events in large part due to being unable travel back to the United States and being stuck in India due to the country lockdown as a result of the pandemic.[13] Lahiri managed to hold on to his PGA Tour card due to circumstances related to the pandemic which resulted in postponement and cancellation of events, players who were on the PGA Tour for the 2020 season maintained guaranteed status for the 2021 season.[15] He finished 118th in the FedEx Cup for the 2021 season retaining his card for the 2022 PGA Tour season with a highest finish of T3 at the Barbasol Championship.[16]

In March 2022, Lahiri finished second at The Players Championship by one stroke to Cameron Smith. The Players is held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It has one of the strongest field of the year and has the richest purse of any tournament. By finishing second, Lahiri won $2,180,000, this is more than he ever won in a full PGA Tour season prior to this tournament.[17]

LIV Golf

Anirban Lahiri looks on at the first tee box at the LIV Golf Invitational Boston at The International Golf Club in Bolton, MA.

In August 2022, it was announced that Lahiri had joined LIV Golf.[18] At his first LIV Golf tournament, Lahiri finished in a three-way tie for first place at the LIV Golf Invitational Boston with Dustin Johnson and Joaquín Niemann. Lahiri lost the playoff to Johnson to finish second, earning $1,812,500 in the process.

Personal life

Lahiri is a resident of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[19] He is of Bengali descent and speaks Bengali, Hindi and Punjabi in addition to English.[20] In May 2014, he married his long-time partner, Ipsa Jamwal. His personal interests include listening to music and computer gaming.[21]

Professional wins (18)

European Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 8 Feb 2015 Maybank Malaysian Open1 −16 (70-72-62-68=272) 1 stroke Austria Bernd Wiesberger
2 22 Feb 2015 Hero Indian Open1 −7 (73-65-70-69=277) Playoff India Shiv Chawrasia

1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2015 Hero Indian Open India Shiv Chawrasia Won with birdie on first extra hole

Asian Tour wins (7)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 9 Apr 2011 Panasonic Open (India)1 −13 (65-71-68-71=275) Playoff India Manav Jaini, Singapore Mardan Mamat
2 25 Feb 2012 SAIL-SBI Open1 −14 (65-69-67-73=274) Playoff Thailand Prom Meesawat
3 9 Mar 2013 SAIL-SBI Open1 (2) −15 (71-68-66-68=273) Playoff India Rashid Khan
4 27 Apr 2014 CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters −17 (70-69-64-68=271) 1 stroke South Korea Baek Seuk-hyun, Australia Cameron Smith
5 26 Oct 2014 Venetian Macau Open −17 (61-73-67-66=267) 1 stroke Australia Scott Hend, Thailand Prom Meesawat
6 8 Feb 2015 Maybank Malaysian Open2 −16 (70-72-62-68=272) 1 stroke Austria Bernd Wiesberger
7 22 Feb 2015 Hero Indian Open2 −7 (73-65-70-69=277) Playoff India Shiv Chawrasia

1Co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India
2Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Asian Tour playoff record (4–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2011 Panasonic Open (India) India Manav Jaini, Singapore Mardan Mamat Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2012 SAIL-SBI Open Thailand Prom Meesawat Won after concession on first extra hole
3 2013 SAIL-SBI Open India Rashid Khan Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2015 Hero Indian Open India Shiv Chawrasia Won with birdie on first extra hole
5 2016 Venetian Macao Open Thailand Pavit Tangkamolprasert Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Professional Golf Tour of India wins (14)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 27 Sep 2009 Haryana Open −10 (69-69-71-69=278) 1 stroke India Chinnaswamy Muniyappa
2 8 Nov 2009 BILT Open −20 (66-65-66-71= 268) 7 strokes India Naman Dawar
3 14 May 2010 PGTI Players Championship (Aamby Valley) −24 (65-65-67-67=264) 6 strokes India Shamim Khan
4 2 Jul 2010 Aircel PGTI Players Championship (Oxford) −21 (65-68-67-67=267) 6 strokes India Himmat Rai
5 30 Oct 2010 BILT Open −11 (68-68-71-70=277) 4 strokes India Amardeep Malik
6 11 Feb 2011 Aircel PGTI Players Championship (Tollygunge) −18 (68-65-65-64=270) 8 strokes India Rashid Khan, India Jyoti Randhawa
7 2 Apr 2011 Aircel PGTI Players Championship (Panchkula) −14 (72-65-70-67=274) 2 strokes India Mukesh Kumar
8 9 Apr 2011 Panasonic Open (India)1 −13 (65-71-68-71=275) Playoff India Manav Jaini, Singapore Mardan Mamat
9 25 Feb 2012 SAIL-SBI Open1 −14 (65-69-67-73=274) Playoff Thailand Prom Meesawat
10 9 Mar 2013 SAIL-SBI Open1 (2) −15 (71-68-66-68=273) Playoff India Rashid Khan
11 28 Jun 2013 PGTI Players Championship (Oxford) −10 (71-67-68-72=278) Playoff India Shamim Khan
12 5 Jul 2013 Eagleburg Open −20 (73-62-64-69=268) 5 strokes India S. Chikkarangappa
13 29 Dec 2013 McLeod Russel Tour Championship −17 (66-71-65-69=271) 4 strokes India Rahil Gangjee
14 1 Feb 2014 Ahmedabad Masters −14 (64-70-71-69=274) 6 strokes India Rahil Gangjee

1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

Playoff record

LIV Golf Invitational Series playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Boston United States Dustin Johnson, Chile Joaquín Niemann Johnson won with eagle on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament T49 T42
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship T31 CUT T30 T68 CUT CUT
PGA Championship CUT T5 CUT 75 CUT
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 1 1 7 2
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3
Totals 0 0 0 1 1 1 18 7

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
The Players Championship CUT CUT CUT T74 C CUT 2
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Championship T71 T28
Match Play T34 T28
Invitational T53 T33 T6
Champions T28 T40
  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 13 2015 Ending 29 Mar 2015" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. ^ "LIST OF ARJUNA AWARD WINNERS - Football | Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports". yas.nic.in. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 25 December 2007.
  3. ^ "List of Arjuna Awardees (1961–2018)" (PDF). Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. ^ "ABP Ananda recognises Bengali achievers with Sera Bangali Awards". bestmediainfo.com. Delhi. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Next Step for Anirban Lahiri, India's Top Golfer: U.S. Debut". The New York Times. 4 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Anirban Lahiri profile". Professional Golf Tour of India. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Augusta Masters 2015: Five Rookies to Watch". NDTV Sports. 6 April 2015. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  8. ^ "What does Lahiri do on an average day? Makes a cut at Masters!". The Tribune. 12 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  9. ^ "The Masters Leaderboard". Golfweek. 12 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  10. ^ Ballengee, Ryan (16 August 2015). "Anirban Lahiri notches best major finish by an Indian player". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Anirban Lahiri". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Anirban Lahiri back in World's Top-40, certain for President's Cup". ZNews. 17 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Anirban Lahiri – Profile". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  14. ^ "KFT Finals (Excludes Top 25)". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Eligibility adjustments made for 2020-21 PGA Tour season". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  16. ^ "FedExCup – Official Standings – 2021". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  17. ^ Hoggard, Rex (14 March 2022). "Second (or third) doesn't always suck: For Anirban Lahiri, Paul Casey, there is solace". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  18. ^ Schlabach, Mark (30 August 2022). "Open champion Cameron Smith, five others leave PGA Tour for LIV Golf". ESPN. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  19. ^ Smits, Garry (13 March 2022). "India's Anirban Lahiri charges late to grab Players Championship lead over Harold Varner, Tom Hoge". jacksonville.com. Florida, United States: The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Indian Golfer Anirban Lahiri's Life Lessons". The Wall Street Journal. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Anirban Lahiri profile". Asian Tour. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  22. ^ Asian Junior Golf Team Championship Archived 27 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "Briefs – India finish 12th". Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  24. ^ Eisenhower Trophy (World Amateur Team Championship) Archived 27 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Always aiming higher
  26. ^ Nomura Cup (Asia Pacific Amateur Team Golf Championship) Archived 27 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Anirban Lahiri in the Presidents Cup
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