Enjoying a fantastic run of form which saw him claim his fifth Asian Tour title last week, Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri today said he can now claim to have the game to beat the sport's top names at the cash-rich CIMB Classic starting on Thursday.
The in-form Lahiri claimed his second title of the season in Macau last weekend, adding to a memorable triumph at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters in April, and he is eager to shine at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
"You can't just go to sleep and wake up a different player the next morning. I think I've learned a lot over the last four years. I won my first event in 2011 and between that victory and between my victory last week, I've seen a big difference in the kind of golf that I'm playing now," said Lahiri.
"I've become a better player, and know how to play different courses. The experience of playing in three Majors have helped so far. I've played with good and top class players and learned from watching them play."
With the Asian Tour co-sanctioning the CIMB Classic with the PGA TOUR, Lahiri will get another chance to reinforce his growing reputation and also improve on his world ranking of 69th position.
He will play alongside Major winner Jason Dufner and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama in the opening two rounds in the event which leading names include FedExCup champion Billy Horshel, England's Lee Westwood, Spaniard Sergio Garcia and title holder Ryan Moore.
Currently second on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit, Lahiri, who finished joint 10th here when the club hosted the Malaysian Open in April, has set several goals which include breaking into the world's top-50 and becoming the fourth Indian to claim the accolade as Asia's number one.
"It is difficult for me to go out on the golf course and just play with a result in mind. Obviously it's an important week in terms of where the Order of Merit goes. I have to just look to play well.
