Anirban Lahiri has decided to skip the last two events of the Web.com Final series as he feels he has done enough to be assured of a PGA Tour card. (Read more golf stories here)
Lahiri, who was tied sixth and tied 16th in his two starts, feels he has made enough money — $49,750 — to make the top-25 of the Web.com Final series Money to get the card.
“I had committed to the first three events and planned to skip the (Web.com) Tour Championships, but then I felt I had enough money to get the card and status on PGA Tour for 2016. That would give me enough starts next year and not limit to me 12 as was the case in 2015,” said Lahiri.
“I wanted to rest and be fresh for the President’s Cup, which I am looking forward to.”
Lahiri, winner of European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned events in Malaysia and Hero Indian Open in early 2015, is the first Indian to qualify for the Presidents Cup’s International Team. The event will be held in Incheon, Korea from October 9 to 11.
The third event of the four-event Web.com Final series started on Thursday but Lahiri returned home for a rest.
Lahiri will, however, tee up at the CIMB Classic and the WGC-HSBC, both of which are also part of the PGA Tour 2016.
Lahiri would have go into both through Asian Tour also, where he is leading the Money List and is in line to become the fourth Indian after Jyoti Randhawa (2002), Arjun Atwal (2003) and Jeev Milkha Singh (2006 and 2008) to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Early commitments for the event include the likes of Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and two-time defending champion, Ryan Moore. Other commitments were also received from South Africa’s Branden Grace, Australia’s Marc Leishman, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and New Zealand’s Danny Lee. Also committed for the tournament are Americans Patrick Reed and Jimmy Walker.
Scott, Leishman, Grace, Matsuyama, Lee, Steven Bowditch, and Lahiri will be representing the International Team at the Presidents Cup while Walker, Reed and Chris Kirk will be representing Team USA.
The CIMB Classic, now in its sixth year, will feature a 78-player elite field, comprising 60 players from the PGA Tour, 10 from the Asian Tour and eight sponsor’s exemptions. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Professional Golf Association of Malaysia.
