Golf legend Gary Player on Tuesday said Anirban Lahiri’s second place finish at The PLAYERS championship just shows that India is not very far from having a Major winner.
Lahiri finished sole second at the PLAYERS Championship in Florida, US on March 14 to walk away with a career-best $2.18 million in earnings.
"Lahiri’s performance was such an amazing effort against all the best players in the world,” the nine-time Major champion Player told reporters on the eve of the DGC Open.
"He finished second in the fifth most important tournament and I wonder if the Indian population realise the publicity that he got for India is quite remarkable.
"If Lahiri can finish second at The PLAYERS, he can definitely win a Major, no question and what a happy day it would be for me to see an African or a person from India winning a Major.”
The 86-year-old from South Africa is regarded as one of the all-time greats in golf, having won 160 titles worldwide since 1963.
He is only the third golfer to win the "Grand Slam of Golf".
"It (An Indian Major winner) is coming, because you have the standard of play, you have good golf courses, good climate, it can happen,” he said.
"To become a champion, you have to be a different kind of person. You got to be dedicated, you got to live it morning, day and night and not many people are prepared to be that.”
Player won three Open Championships, three Masters, two US PGA Championships and one US Open.
The only modern player to win the Open Championship in three different decades, Player said to produce a champion it is important to encourage the young to pick up the sport.
"We must do everything possible to develop junior golf girls and boys to produce a champion for India who will get enormous publicity of the country like Sachin Tendulkar did for cricket. Tendulkar is one of my great heroes in cricket,” he said.
"If we can get a young champion from India, and not if, you can – if the instruction is correct, and he has the desire and the makeup, you can do it. And that would be a fantastic thing.”
Player, who has redesigned the Delhi Golf course, said he is very happy with how it has panned out and is excited to see the action unfold when the best in Asia tees off here on Thursday.
"There are 21 countries at The DGC Open this year. For me to come here again, it is a privilege and to design this golf course. It was a treat going around the golf course today. It has turned out way way better than I anticipated.”
The DGC Open will be the first Asian tour event to be hosted in India after a gap of three years and will see the likes of Shiv Kapur, Gaganjeet Bhullar, USA’s Paul Peterson, SSP Chawrasia and Rashid Khan vying for honours.
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