Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri has created history by finishing a tied-fifth at the PGA Championship, the best-ever outing by an Indian at a golf Major.
The 28-year-old Bangalore native played out a final round of 4-under 68 on Sunday after putting together six birdies and two bogeys to finish at 13-under 275, seven shots behind winner Jason Day.
In fact, Anirban could have finished even higher, had it not been for a bogey on the final hole.
It feels great. It’s a bit of a relief, really. I’ve never really gotten into contention. This gives me a massive amount of confidence, knowing that I can be out here mixing it up with the best, knowing that I need to get just a little bit better to maybe get closer or over the line in the future. So it’s been a huge week for me.
– Anirban Lahiri
The top-five finish, courtesy sub-par rounds on each of the four days at the Major also helped Anirban climb to number 38 in the latest world rankings, a big jump from his previous 53.
Anirban, in fact was playing only his career’s seventh Major, of which six had come in succession. Previously, he had made the cut in four and his best outing had been T-30 at the British Open earlier this year.
Lahiri qualified for the elite European Tour in 2015 itself after going through the qualifying school but started the season strong, winning two major titles in a matter of three weeks.
Lahiri, only the second Indian to make Top-50 of the world, has won seven titles in Asia in his career so far, of which two - Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open - were co-sanctioned with European Tour.
After the stellar finish in Wisconsin, Anirban is also set to re-enter the top 50 of golf rankings and is all but assured of a spot in the Internationals team at the President’s Cup, an event held every two years between United States and Rest of the World (minus Europe).
The tournament will be played in Incheon, South Korea from Oct 8-11, and Anirban, once again, will be the first Indian to feature in it.
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