Indian star golfer Anirban Lahiri hopes marital bliss will spur him to victory at the Queen's Cup starting at the Santiburi Samui Country Club tomorrow and earn a ticket to the US Open.
The current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, who tied the knot with sweetheart Ipsa Jamwal last week, can qualify for the year's second Major with a triumph in the USD 300,000 Asian Tour tournament.
Following one victory and three other top-10s this season, the 26-year-old will start as one of the favourites as he also has an impressive track record here with four previous top-10s at a venue nicknamed the "Beast of Samui".
A strong field which includes seven other players from the top-10 of the Order of Merit and leading Thais such as Thaworn Wiratchant, Prom Meesawat and Arnond Vongvanij stands in his way but Lahiri is determined to enjoy the week with his wife on the holiday isle of Samui.
"It's nice to have her accompany me. Off the course, it's a lot of fun. It's very relaxing and it keeps me fresh and motivated on the course," said Lahiri today.
"I think I probably need a win to get in (to the US Open) but I can't get into an event thinking of trying to win for any other reason. I've not played much golf coming in, so I'm happy and have no expectations."
Lahiri claimed his fourth Asian Tour victory at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters in April after a stunning final-hole eagle and currently sits in 72nd position on the Official World Golf Ranking.
A victory in Samui, worth 14 world ranking points, should get him into the top-60 which is the cut-off to get into the US Open in Pinehurst next week.
After the merriment of getting hitched, the talented Indian was happy to get back to his day job.
"It was a happy week, a busy week and a hectic week. Indian weddings are complicated affairs!" smiled Lahiri, who contributed two points in Asia's dramatic draw with Europe in the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM in Malaysia in March.
