You can’t try to overwhelm the course at Delhi Golf Club, says Lahiri

Indian LIV Golf star Anirban Lahiri will make a rare appearance at a European Tour event, the $4 million DP World India Championship that starts at the Delhi Golf Club on Thursday. Image courtesy of DPWIC.

By Rahul Banerji

His last victory, the Hero Indian Open, came at the Delhi Golf Club in 2015. Ten years later, Anirban Lahiri is back to try to end a long title drought at the DP World India Championship, which starts on Thursday.

Now an established star on the LIV Golf circuit, Lahiri is still wary of the DGC and its idiosyncrasies.

“You can’t try to overpower this course,” he told reporters when asked how he planned to tackle not only the course but a quality field at the $4 million event.

“I don’t know if you tame it, you just make friends with it. If you can’t beat them, you join them. That’s what I tried to do.”

“You can’t try to overpower this golf course. I think that’s what I tried to do when I was younger and more fearless and didn’t think, I was bulletproof, so to speak.

“No, I burned myself a few times, missed a lot of cuts, made a lot of big numbers, and then I went back to the drawing board and kind of realized what I had to do to play consistently.”

About his approach to the event

“I think my goal was to find consistency on this golf course, and that ultimately led to me getting into contention and eventually winning a bunch of times.

“But the whole idea for me was to figure out where to be aggressive, where to be conservative, and from aggressive off the tee to conservative off the tee and aggressive on the second shot.

“I took the driver out, which is something you’ll see a lot of players doing this week.

“I had a chat with some of my colleagues’ caddies who are here for the first time, and they were puzzling, and I would be very surprised to see too many of the stars carrying a driver.

“But also just navigating, understanding what is strategically the best way for me to meet the challenge of DGC, which, like I said, puts myself more in the game.

“I’m very excited to be back. A lot of things have changed since I last played the course. The course has undergone a beautiful renovation. I was very excited to see all the new changes.

“It still feels familiar. I think it’s still the same off the tee. But I’m very happy and excited to be back.”

On the field

“It’s great to have so many Ryder Cup stars, Rory, Tommy, especially in the year Tommy won the FedExCup, Rory won the Grand Slam.

“You have Viktor, you have so many stars this week. I think it has been a landmark year for golf lovers in India. We have so many stars.”

“We had a few at DLF earlier this year, and now we have so many this week. I think there will be a huge buzz tomorrow and the customers will be loud on the golf course.

“Hopefully we can continue to have fantastic golf supporters like DP World who can continue to bring such great pitches to such iconic courses.

“It all bodes well for the next generation of golfers to see their idols, see their stars live in action, hear the ball, see the ball fly and feel excitement.”

About his mentorship program

“It’s been a journey as I near the completion of my second decade as a professional. I’ve seen a lot, especially in the last 10, 12 years, since I’ve moved on and played on the higher tours in the world.”

“Personally, I feel a sense of responsibility, a sense of wanting to give something back to golf, to a sport that has given me everything in life.

“I come from humble backgrounds and I see many children here who are exactly who I was twenty years ago.

“I have also seen many of my friends, colleagues and compatriots who have enormous potential, but who do not necessarily reach the highest levels, even though they could and should have done so.

“So that has inspired and motivated me to start my own mentoring program, which for now will focus on juniors and amateurs.

“Mentorship and guidance was something that I was very fortunate to have. I think it is my duty and the duty of all my contemporaries to pass that on to the next generation, so I am just doing my bit.

“Like I said, I hope over the next five, 10, 15 years we’ll have more and more players playing and competing and competing on the top tours and the majors.

About his presence at a DP World event

“Without going into too much detail, I am very grateful to DP World, the company and the organization, for sending me this invitation.

“I love playing at home, competing in India and in DGC, especially when the field is so good. I enjoy these opportunities.”

“I think it’s been a little over two months since my management contacted DP World and they were very excited to welcome me, so I’m very happy and grateful that DP World sent me this invitation.

About LIV Golf’s India plans

“I’m not high enough in the organization to be able to answer that question accurately.

“Does India play a role in the long-term plans for LIV as an organization? I think certainly.

“The proof of that is the International Series event that took place here, and I’m sure that’s something that will continue, I hope, and I’m going to do my utmost to convert that into a full-fledged LIV event in the future.

“So I hope it happens. Is it going to happen next year? No. We have already announced the schedule. I don’t think India will feature in ’26. But I am still hopeful that we will have a pit stop here in the next few years.”

That said, I think the commitment to India and the growth of the game is very evident here, and I think you’ll see more players and events happening here in the coming years.”

About the pressure of playing at home

“You know, I want that burden. I’ve had the responsibility of being the standard bearer for over a decade now, so it feels natural to me.

“It’s something I embrace and have gotten used to.

“I think I’ll thrive under pressure, if you want to call it that. I think I’ll thrive on the energy, I would probably use that word, and the buzz.”

“For me personally, every time I’ve played in DGC over the last 10 or 12 times, I’ve had some semblance of control. The goal has been the same: you just have to play the golf course the way it wants you to.

“There are no plans C and B, there is only a plan A and a plan B, and plan B if your plan A doesn’t work. I just have to execute. If I do that, I have to put myself in a good position on Sunday.”

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