Lahiri keen to retain his place in Asian Tour

KHON KAEN - Anirban Lahiri, one of the rising stars of Indian golf, is looking to better his sixth-place performance at the $300,000 Kings Cup starting Thursday.

Lahiri, who is currently 65th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit is looking for a good finish to lock his place in the top-60 and secure his playing rights for 2011. He also plays in the Indian open a week after King’s Cup.

“My form has been patchy. I have not played as well as I would have liked to but I have won a few times in India (three times) and shot some really low scores so it has been a bit of a mixed bag. Hopefully I will pull out a good performance this week,” said Lahiri.

He added: “You want to be well within the number (top 60 of the Order of Merit) by now but I have not been playing as well as I would like to. So, I am going to go out there and play good and aggressive golf. I am in a situation where I am in a corner and there is only one direction to go.”

Meanwhile, Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei hopes his soaring confidence will bolster his bid for a successful title defence.

Chan, who won his maiden Asian Tour title after defeating Englishman Nick Redfern and Simon Yates of Scotland in a three-way play-off last year, will be eyeing a happy homecoming at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club.

The strong field here includes Asian Tour stars like Thai legend Thaworn Wiratchant, a 12-time Asian Tour champion, Angelo Que of the Philippines, South African Peter Karmis, who won on the Asian Tour in September, and Singaporean Lam Chih Bing.

The tournament is held to commemorate the King of Thailands birthday next month and local hope Chawalit Plaphol, a two-time Asian Tour champion, is determined to battle for the Kings honour.

Chawalit, who has earned over $1 million on the Asian Tour since 2004, hopes to recapture his winning form and bounce back from a 23-month lull where he has only managed one top-10 finish.