US PGA: Let’s cherish what Lahiri achieved

There are moments in sport when the joy of triumph can be matched or even upstaged by the romance of a good, honest, gritty fight — particularly by someone seen as an underdog. This week at the Players Championship on the US PGA tour, the flagship event of the world’s premier golf circuit, Anirban Lahiri proved this sporting truism in a manner the golfing world will never forget.

Lahiri, 34, ranked 322nd in the world, the leader after 54 holes in a star-studded field, was expected to implode in the final round even as Indians stayed up late at night, willing him to do the unthinkable. And though there were moments when it seemed the pressure would get to him, or Australian Cameron Smith would run away from him with a blistering birdie spree, Lahiri hung on, refusing to give up, clawing his way back, making fans across the world discover Indian golf with each shot. After an eagle on 11, and a birdie on 17, Lahiri finished one agonising stroke short. It was heartbreaking, but he knew he had stamped his name across the golfing firmament in a manner that his 18 pro titles (including two on the European Tour) could not have.

The Players is the world’s richest golf tournament, with a $20-million purse. The winner Smith pocketed $3.6 million of that, and Lahiri claimed $2.18 million — the biggest payday for an Indian athlete ever. But more than the money, it’s important to cherish what Lahiri achieved — opening another door for Indian pro golf in a manner that players such as Jeev Milkha Singh (14 titles on the European, Asian and Japan Tours), Arjun Atwal (the only Indian to win a PGA Tour title in 2010), and Shubhankar Sharma (two European titles even before he turned 22) have done in recent years — and how he did it.