Dubai move helps LIV Golf star Anirban Lahiri recover from tough personal challenges

SINGAPORE: Ace Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri, who has been in the headlines for his back-to-back second-place finishes at LIV Golf Adelaide and the International Series Vietnam in the past couple of weeks, said relocating from the US to Dubai has been a key factor in his current run of form.

The 35-year-old has been going through a tough time, personally, with his mother-in-law suffering from cancer and receiving palliative care. Despite this, last Sunday he mounted an astonishing charge in Adelaide and almost caught winner Talor Gooch, despite starting the day 11 shots behind.

Minutes after shooting his final-round 65, he found out that his mother-in-law had passed away while he was on the course.

Lahiri, the world No. 95, is the highest-ranked Indian golfer in the world, and last year he became the first, and only, player from his country contracted by the Saudi Golf-backed LIV Golf. He immediately made an impact, finishing second to Dustin Johnson following a playoff during his maiden competition in Boston. In September, after giving up his PGA Tour membership, he moved to Dubai from West Palm Beach in Florida.

“It was something I had been thinking about for a long time,” said Lahiri, who is part of the Bryson DeChambeau-led Crushers team in the LIV League.

“Florida was too far away from home (Bengaluru) and I wanted to be closer to my family and friends, and yet be able to play an international schedule and be able to use quality facilities. Dubai ticked all the boxes for me.”

Dubai is about a three-hour flight from Pune, where wife Ipsa’s family lives, and a similar distance from Hyderabad, where his own parents live. The fastest journey from Florida to those cities takes about 20 hours each way.

“It’s hard