Anirban Lahiri

Golf: Anirban Lahiri—the great Indian hope

Anirban Lahiri is the next great Indian hope. The sport is golf.

The 28-year-old finished joint fifth at the the PGA championship—the final Slam of the year.

It is the best ever placing by an Indian golfer at a Slam surpassing Jeev Milkha Singh’s tied ninth place at the 2008 PGA event.

This is just the beginning for the young man who won the Long Drive competition on the Tuesday before.

Lahiri is in line for being the first Indian golfer to be an endorser for Rolex watches.

Lahiri’s manager, Neeraj Sareen, said:

“We are almost on the verge of signing a contract with Rolex. They got interested in Lahiri once he entered the top-50 in the world and earned a ticket to all the four Majors. He recently signed a multi-year deal with leading Italian luxury clothing brand Chervo. He has been wearing Chervo clothes since the British Open and has got good results there and in the PGA Championship too. My phone has been ringing continuously in the past couple of weeks and there have been many brands who have shown interest in him including Banyan Tree Hotels, with whom we are likely to sign a contract in the coming week or so.”

Over the past 18 months, Lahiri’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric beginning at 195 and currently at 38.

Lahiri is also the first Indian to play at all four majors in a calendar year only missing the cut at the US Open.

Can Lahiri be the one who makes history for Indian sport by inscribing his name on one or more of the golf majors?

We will wait and hope.