PUNE: Anirban Lahiri says he has not let go of his "dream" and "ambition" to play golf against the best at the highest level, including the Majors, by signing up for the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Series.
The Indian ace was unveiled on Tuesday among the latest set of golfers to join the controversial tour, which will have a smaller field of 48 players competing in individual and team formats over three rounds with no cuts.
The inaugural 2022 season has a schedule of eight events, with each offering at least $20 million in total prize money, and is set to expand in 2023. The series doesn't offer world ranking points and those who compete are likely to face stricter qualifying criteria for the four Majors.
The PGA Tour has barred those who have joined LIV from competing in its tournaments, triggering a lawsuit in the US.
British Open champion and World No. 2 Cameron Smith is biggest catch yet for LIV but the majority of the players who have signed up for the Greg Norman-spearheaded series can be said to be past their best although they are multiple Major winners and house-hold names.
Lahiri, now 35 and a father of two, said the move to LIV will provide him a work-life balance as it would allow him to play more events closer home.
"The grind never stops. You are always working to get better. You are working to get faster, stronger, trying to stay up with the young guys," Lahiri said -- in his first media interaction since forgoing the PGA card to join the radical tour -- in Boston, USA, on Wednesday.
"I mean, I'm 35 now. I turned pro at 20. So yeah, you chase your dream and my dream has always been to play the best golf I can play. Play at the highest level I can play, Major championships obviously.
"Those dreams don't really go away. You still chase them but you reach a point where you're like, 'okay, I've done this for 15 years, I've chased this dream and everyone else on my team has had to follow and support and put up with everything that is centred around me'.
"But I also reach a point in time of my life now where I've had my second kid, and it's all about, 'man, I want to do some stuff. I want to be home more (often) and I want to contribute and I want to give them the best environment I can'.
"It's being able to see their grandparents, for instance. I've been here (based in the US) for seven years and it's been extremely difficult. Those are the things that are also dawning on me.
"Life is equally important to me, and my golf life affords me the opportunity to do both in a more balanced manner. I'm just moving my direction but it doesn't affect my ambition and doesn't affect my dedication and what I want to achieve.
"I still want to do that, but I can balance it much, much better right now."
Lahiri, who will be part of Team Crushers which will be captained by the big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau, predicted that the team format would do to golf what IPL had to cricket with regard to growing the sport's fan base.
"Everybody talks about legacy, legacy, legacy -- there is an opportunity to have a legacy with a team franchise. It didn't exist but it does now. Same thing happened with the IPL in India. It didn't exist 15 years ago and it does now. It's now one of the most valued leagues in the world," he said.
"Me being on Bryson's team, he's a global figure and he's done some tremendous stuff with his distance and all of that. And people are going to say, 'wow, he's on XYZ's team', or 'he's on Phil's team' or 'he's on Joaquín'S team' and what that also does is by extension, it builds a greater fan base."
Of course, he would like to talk to Norman, the legendary Aussie, a two-time major winner and a former world no. 1 who is now LIV's CEO, to bring the series to his home soil.
"I think down the road it's definitely something I would love to talk to him (Norman) about because part of growing the game would be for us to take golf to different countries, different markets," Lahiri said.
"It's a fantastic thing for golf in India. I think everybody in India is excited so far, the golfing community, the media, everyone is thrilled to be honest.
"I think we are playing in Thailand in a few weeks ... I already have received so many phone calls, messages, 'hey, I want to come to Bangkok'. And it's not just India. They are going to fly up from everywhere in that region.
"Because when was the last time so many major champions, so many of the top players in the world, showed up in that part of the world to play golf? Never .. that region is starved of top quality golf.
"I never grew up watching so many major winners play in my neighbourhood, which is going to happen (now). That's something that people here don't understand because they see it every week. They can drive a few hours and see it down the road from the town they live in. I couldn't.
"And that's going to be a possibility going in the future and that's where you inspire the next generation. Yeah, it's definitely going to be impactful."
