Lahiri eyes good outing at Queen’s Cup
With an eye on the forthcoming British Open, Anirban Lahiri returns to one of his favourite venues on the Asian Tour for the Queen’s Cup, starting in Sanui, Thailand, on Thursday.
Lahiri, who won twice in the span of a year on the Asian Tour, is one of a number of Indians teeing up at the Queen’s Cup in Koh Samui.
The others in the field for the $300,000 event include Himmat Rai, Chiragh Kumar and Ajeetesh Sandhu.
“Samui is one of my favourite courses on the Asian Tour. It’s my fifth year in a row here. I love the course, I have had two top-10s here so I enjoy the challenge of the course. You have to stay patient. You can’t hit it wayward as it’s very penal. The main challenge comes from the wind. If it is windy, it’ll get tougher,” said Lahiri.
“It’s a lot drier this year which will make it tougher and the greens are quicker than usual which won’t help the scoring as the slopes are severe. Hopefully the winds stay down which will help scoring, otherwise it’ll be a grind,” added the 28-year-old, who has now spent five years on the Tour.
On his preperations for his maiden appearance at a Major, Lahiri said, “I was in the UK recently and played Royal Lytham a couple of times to prepare for the British Open. I was there with my coach, which was good. The next time I go back there in July, I don’t think I would be overwhelmed by the place.”
Meanwhile, Filipino golf star Juvic Pagunsan hopes to win the Queen’s Cup to ease the pressure of being the reigning Asian Tour no. 1, who finished third in the 2010 Queen’s Cup.
Other big stars in the field include title holder Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand and the likes of Prom Meesawat, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Bangladeshi Siddikur, and Australia’s Scott Hend.
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