|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 6, 2015Anirban LahiriAUGUSTA, GEORGIA MODERATOR: Good afternoon, I'd like to welcome an impressive young man, Anirban Lahiri. Over the past year, he has had four victories, including two European Tour wins at the Malaysian Open and Indian Open. He is currently the No. 1 ranked player on the Asian Tour and No. 34 in the world. A native of Bangalore, India, Anirban is making his first appearance in the Masters Tournament. Before we take some questions, welcome to Augusta. Perhaps you can tell us your thoughts entering into this week. ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Thank you so much. I think this is obviously one of those events that growing up as a kid, anyone who is playing golf or has watched golf, followed golf, associates the sport with and associates history with, and I am no different. It's obviously been one of those things that I have wanted to do, to be here ideally inside the ropes, where I find myself this year. So it's a very exciting time in my career for me, great opportunities and really excited to be here. Q. You mentioned being inside the ropes. Have you been here before? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: No, I haven't. The first time I got here on the golf course was yesterday and that was the first round that I played was yesterday. Yeah, just taking it all in at once. Q. Can you talk about your first impressions, what you saw, what you felt playing the course the first time? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think the first thing that hits you is how different it is from what you see on television, because that's where I've seen Augusta. I've never been here, like I just mentioned. So some of those tee shots, standing on the tee, and I had my caddie with me; hey, this is more than five yards wide. It sometimes looks not even five yards wide when you look at it on television, like standing on the 18th tee, for instance. The first thing that hit me is how different it is to actually play, how different it is to actually be hitting those shots rather than watching those shots. It's quite different obviously. It's quite amazing and it's a great feeling. Q. What are some of the memories you remember of watching the Masters and who were your favorite players at that time? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Well, I'm 27, so I'm very much a part of the Tiger era. Obviously that was the Masters for me, the year he came out and destroyed everyone else and the golf course, if I may say so. That was just‑‑ that was outstanding. And that is one of those events, one of the years where it was huge for the sport. And for me as a kid watching it, among other millions of kids, that was massive. I have watched Jeev, who has played here two or three times, three times before I think, who has got off to good starts in the past and I think had a good finish, I think in the 20s once. He's led the event one or two times I think on Thursday through nine or 12 or 14. So there are quite a few memories. Adam Scott had quite an historic win here, as well. So there's been a lot of great champions. Obviously there's a lot of history, and you really want to be part of that. Q. When Jeev played here this year when you're here, how much excitement is there back in India, do you believe, for a player of your country to be playing here? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think it's massive. It's huge. I think the last player to be at Augusta was Arjun, if I'm not mistaken. I might be wrong, but I don't think so. I think he was the last one here in 2010 or 2011, and there has not been an Indian here since. So it's obviously very exciting back home. There's going to be a lot of people up through the night watching the Masters coverage this year. It's also exciting because it's someone outside the three, the three being Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa. I think the three of them have been the torch bearers for golf in India for nearly 15 years now. There were a couple of us coming through in the beginning taking baby steps in the right directions. It's exciting for everyone at home to see the younger generation, the younger lot, beginning to step up. So it's a new face, it's a fresh feeling for everyone back home. Only I know how I'm feeling. It's very different from what I've felt before. Q. From your perspective, what is the state of golf in India now in terms of participation? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think it's so much better than it was. I think the fact‑‑ like the three people I just mentioned, the three golfers, their contribution to golf is massive, because when they were playing in the mid and late '90s, golf was an insignificant sport. I'm happy to say it's not anymore. Even when I was growing up and I was in my early teens, it was really, really minute. Now there are a lot more kids playing. There's a lot more people who are gravitating to the sport because of the sport having become a more viable option as a profession. I don't think that was the case in Asia or in India, for that matter, maybe two decades back. I think that's one big factor that's kind of changed over the last two decades. It's not just India, you look at Thailand, some of the other countries, Korea, for instance. Golf is booming in India and there are more kids who are playing and who are able to compete. Having said that, I don't think the infrastructure and the facilities are nearly as good as they need to be. So most of us who actually do what we are doing is despite that, and that's a great thing. Q. On that note, do you feel that you're playing for more than just your own performance this week? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Absolutely. Q. And that what you do as an impact on golf in India? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Yes, absolutely. I definitely believe that, and I think that helps me to work that little bit harder and try that little bit more, and just‑‑ it gives me a lot of positivity, because a lot of people that I meet, even out there today just playing the practice round, there are quite a few ex‑Patriots here in the United States, a lot of them Indians. A lot of them have been here a long time and feel very strongly for India. I can even feel that out here, a lot of them coming up saying, we are rooting for you and have fun, represent your country and be proud. It's fantastic. It gives me so much energy. Yeah, I definitely want to do well for myself, but I want to do well more for everyone else and for golf, what it might do back home. So I have a lot to play for. Q. What does this tournament mean to you growing up in India as a young golfer, and what was it like to be out there today and actually on this golf course that I'm sure you've watched so many, many times on television? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think this golf, the four majors are obviously a very special place, and I've said this before, among them, it's always the Masters and The Open Championship that stand out, simply because of the tradition, the history and all the great champions that these events in particular have had over the years. As a kid growing up, it was always, you know, when you are eight, nine, ten and you're having fun with your buddies, the sun is going down and you're on the putting green and you're like, let's have a nine‑hole match before we go home and the scores are tied; and the three of us are like, okay, last putt, 8‑footer, this is to win the Masters, or this is to win The Open. So that is what it means to someone like me and a whole bunch of us who are here. One of the ends in itself of playing the sport is to be here and to be a champion. So to be a part of that is very special. So that kind of gives you some light on what it means to be here. Q. Apologies if you said this already‑‑ ANIRBAN LAHIRI: No, that's fine. Q. How many practice rounds have you had? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I got here on Saturday night to Augusta. I played 18 yesterday. I played nine today. Yeah, probably just going to take it easy over the next couple of days, as well. Q. Could you analyze your game over the last year of what the breakthrough has been in your game, and who is your instructor? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Okay. I'll answer the second part first. My instructor's name is Vijay Divehca. He is an Indian gentleman who works in Bangalore. Actually I moved to Bangalore to work with him about almost 14 years back. So I've worked primarily pretty much only with him over the years. There have been a lot of decisions I've had to make at various times in my young career, whether I come out here to play college golf, whether I move to a bigger golf center, say, Dubai or somewhere in Europe where golf is a bigger sport. I've done well and he's done really well to stick it out with me, with each other over the years back home in India, and just keep chipping away on fundamentals and basics and trying to just improve the quality of my golf. It's never been working towards specific results, more towards just improving and just wake up every day and try and be a better golfer. Coming back to your first part, I think over the last, I won't say 12 months, but I think the last 24 months, I think my game has improved in various levels. Technically speaking, I think I've had a very mild graph going upwards, nothing meteoric, I would say. But we have tried to improve on most parameters, including my driving, which has become a lot more accurate than it used to be, and I think my mental side. The biggest change has become in believing that I can compete and beat a lot of the world‑class players. I think it's also come from experiencing that. It's one thing to believe that you can do well in a big event or that you can beat X, Y, Z or a good player, it's another thing to do that. I think the results over the last 18, 24 months in events where I managed to do that have kind of bolstered that belief and made it stronger. I think that's what really counts when you're out there on the Thursday playing in the biggest events in the world: Do you actually believe you can beat these guys? I do, and that is the difference. Q. You talked a lot about the impact in India. I'm from Toronto where there is a massive India population. Has it crossed your mind that your success could be growing the game in North America, and is that something you're ready to embrace? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Not really. I'll be happy to embrace it but I don't think I've ever thought about it. I really don't think that‑‑ or I've never thought that it would appeal to that section of Indians abroad, so to speak. But if it does, then, you know, I'm all the more happy for it and it will give me a lot of satisfaction if I can make a difference. But I haven't really thought about it, no. Q. Are there any players that you've spoken to about playing here this week, or are there any players that you are going to play with during the next couple days? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I did pick Jeev's brains. He's been here three times. We've had a couple of discussions earlier when we were playing in events where he was playing, as well. A lot of good advice. Even Arjun who has played here before. I had a chance to catch up with Sir Nick Faldo this morning, and he's one of the greats who has been really well out here. I had about a 15‑, 20‑minute chat‑‑ well, I didn't have a chat. He had a chat with me; I was listening. Just to get more perspective. I had a chance to play nine holes on the back nine yesterday with Vijay Singh, he's a past champion as well, a little bit of Indian background there, as well. Obviously I'm trying to soak in all the experience not just of being here but of playing here and understanding the golf course, and how best I can play personally with my game. Everybody has a different game style. Bubba can fly it down 340. Someone like a Mike Weir who is a great person who navigated it phenomenally well when he won. So what is my game style, what are my strengths, and how can I work with those and maximize my opportunity. That's basically been my exercise over the last day and a half. I definitely feel like I have a little better clarity, a little better idea of what I need to do, and hopefully come Wednesday night, I'm going to feel in a good position with my game plan. Q. Martin Kaymer was in here about an hour ago and he said when he first stepped on the tee for his first Masters, he felt he had almost no chance to win. Obviously that's changed with the success and development of his game and understanding the course and experience of playing it. Stepping on the tee, what are your objectives and what are your goals? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think my goals are quite simple. I just have to go out there and enjoy myself. It is my first time here, so it is really playing with no expectations honestly. At the risk of not sounding like I have no expectations, it's like you're not playing for something. There's no pressure in terms of, you know, what happens if I don't finish here or there. For me, it's easy.  It's the easiest time is your first time out here, because you are a rookie. And you can just go out there and express yourself and have fun. Having said that, I know that if I can play anywhere close to my AGame, I will be there on Sunday. Where will I be on Sunday? I don't know. But that's the whole point, to try to be there somewhere, when 63 holes are over and you give yourself an outside chance, whether it's for the win, for the Top‑5 or the Top‑10, for the Top‑20, I don't care. I just want to be there on Sunday afternoon, giving myself a chance to do something that is meaningful to me. Q. You were also talking about the fact that you are not just playing for yourself but also representing India and helping to popularize the sport there. You said you're motivated by it; but can it also become a burden? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: No, I don't think so. I mean, it's a choice that I have to make. I can either be energized and motivated by it or I can choose to say, you know, people expect me to do this or that, and let that get on top of me. But I know‑‑ the thing is, when you actually meet these people, and I'm saying this because I felt it, when you meet them and you talk to them, and you listen to what they have to say and how they feel, it's fantastic. They are so proud. And how can that make me feel bad? How is that possible? Q. Who is caddying for you? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I've got Cline Laddie, he's been on Tour in America for 13 years. He caddied for Arjun for a long time. He's been here before. He gets along well, knows all the Indian ways. Q. Can you share something specific that Nick Faldo said to you, some advice? Was there anything that he said that surprised you or you didn't expect? ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Well, the funny thing is when you talk to all the great players, what you learn is the detail, the detail with which they do everything, their preparation. There's a lot of advice and a lot of things that Sir Nick said, one of which was very good that I tried to do when I played nine holes this morning. He said Augusta has gotten longer over the years but the green complexes have been the same for a long time. So in essence, what you do around the green, where you position yourself, where the pins are likely to be, because there's so much history, you know that you're going to get one pin in this part of the green or that part of the green. So you kind of do your preparation specific to that and understand the dynamics of how every green complex is designed; which side to miss it, what to take out of play, where to understand‑‑ to look for slopes that might help, slopes to avoid. Because that's the beauty of this golf course and that is the mystery of Augusta. That's something that you know in your mind, but how do you actually go out there and tangibly work on understanding it better. That's something that he helped me with this morning, which is fantastic. MODERATOR: We wish you all the best this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|