Anirban Lahiri created Indian golfing history as he capped an astonishing run through the world’s most lucrative tournament to finish second — one agonising stroke from forcing a play-off.
Lahiri, 34, shot 12-under par 276 at the Players Championship, dubbed the “fifth Major”, to finish a shot behind Australian winner Cameron Smith at the Stadium Course at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, as the golfing world watched the world No 322 mount an unexpected challenge over the 72 holes.
The Pune-born, Florida-based player was at the cusp of what would have been the greatest achievement by an Indian golfer — his second place still ranks alongside other PGA Tour and European Tour wins for the enormity of the tournament — to earn a prize money of $2.18 million, easily the biggest pay day for an Indian athlete.
Smith’s winner’s cheque of $3.6 million, and the total prize money in the US PGA’s flagship event of $20 million, dwarfs the returns for winning any of the four Majors. In fact, Lahiri’s prize money is higher than what the winner of three of the Majors would receive, with only the US Open offering $2.25 million to the winner.
Lahiri caught the attention of global golf watchers when he shot a career-best 67 in the first round before rain and high winds battered the tournament on the US east coast.
But placed a lowly 209 in the FedExCup standings (to determine who qualifies for the play off events at the end of the season in the world’s biggest golf tour), that round was seen more as a one-off.
Until the man searching for his first win on the US PGA Tour — Arjun Atwal’s 2010 Wyndham Championship win is the only Indian success on the tour — showed his skill and mental toughness in demanding conditions to emerge the 54-hole leader in a third round that was split between Sunday and Monday.