Indian Anirban Lahiri believes that many top golfers may not qualify for the Paris Olympics due to the impasse between LIV Golf and the official world golf rankings. He says this could be a wake-up call for the world to take action. Lahiri, 36, plays in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf, which is not recognized by the official World Golf Ranking, making it extremely difficult for him to get one of the 60 spots at the Games. “There is no point in speculating about what ifs. The reality of the situation is what it is. And within that framework, you have to find a way to qualify,” said Lahiri, who is competing in the Hero India Open this week. told reporters.
“You know, it could be a situation where there are a lot of really good golfers in the top ten, who could be playing for their country, but not making it to Paris.
“And maybe that’s what the world needs to wake up and say we need to do something. You know, there’s a lot of ways to look at it.” Lahiri will have to earn the ranking points denied to the LIV Golf fraternity through the Asian Tour and also the Indian Open, where he will return after five years.
“Unless I play well this week and possibly one or two more events, there’s not much to look forward to unfortunately. I’m obviously doing my best, that’s a big motivating factor for me to play well this week,” he said .
“I would love to go to Paris. Whether I play well or not play well is unfortunately not reflected in the current world golf rankings. But that’s the way it is. So I have to do the best with the opportunities I have. I can don’t cry about it.
“When it (OWGR) will be resolved, how it will be resolved, should it be resolved, those are different questions. Right now I have control over the next four rounds and then I can play one or two events, that’s what I can do it, do my very best.” Lahiri, who has already participated in two Olympic Games, is currently the third Indian in the official rankings behind Shubhankar Sharma (202) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (240).
“I’ve had to deal with it twice (Olympics), I have a whole list of excuses for not playing well (laughs) but then let bygones be bygones.
“It’s like a major championship, right? You want to have as many starts as possible at majors to compete and win. So it’s the same. The Olympics are fewer and much further in between.
“I don’t know where my goal for the golf world will be in four years. So I have to focus on, like I said, possibly eight or 12 rounds that I have between now and Paris that will get me there.” .” Lahiri played two events in February and then competed in Jeddah and Hong Kong in LIV this month, but decided to skip the Macau event on the Asian Tour because his “body felt burned”.
“I feel like I’m really playing a week. To be honest, my performances were sporadic in LIV. I only had one good week, but overall I feel like I played well. I didn’t score my best. I I took an extra week off to prepare for this week.
“I feel rested and focused and I want to go out and compete and compete on Sunday. I would love nothing more and I feel like I’m ready.” After a phenomenal 2015, which saw him win twice on the European Tour, and the T5 finish at the PGA Championship that helped him gain promotion to the PGA Tour, Lahiri enjoyed a relatively quiet phase until finishing second in The Players Championship. .
It was the second runner-up finish since the Indian at the 2017 Memorial Tournament. He then moved to LIV Golf but a title eluded him, although he came close at Boston in 2022 and at Adelaide, Bedminister and Chicago in 2023 .
“It’s been a while and no one feels that more than me. You know the weight of I don’t know how many tens of seconds I’ve had, heaviest on my shoulders. So I gotta get that off of me,” Lahiri said.
“It takes me back to when I started my career. So even though I’ve played for 15 to 16 years, I’m still so desperate to win this week because I have to prove it to myself. I don’t have to.” prove it to someone else.
“The first time I played here was in 1999, so it will be remembered. I came here this year with less hair and more gray, so time has passed. It’s been a fantastic ride. So it’s an important week for me. “
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