Lahiri hopes to emulate Jeev at Scottish Open

Anirban Lahiri, the rising star of Indian golf on the world circuit, will continue his quest for the first European Tour title in Europe as he tees up at the traditionally strong Scottish Open, which precedes golf's third Major, the British Open at St. Andrews next week.

Lahiri, who is now No. 51 this week, despite a good finish of tied-30th at the French Open last week will also seek to emulate fellow Indian, Jeev Milkha Singh, who won the Scottish Open in 2012.

Also in the field is a third Indian, Shiv Kapur, who despite having come close many times, is still searching for his maiden European Tour title, though he has won more than once on European Challenge Tour.

Last week Lahiri showed glimpses of form at the French Open, where he was brilliant on front nine, while the challenging back nine set him back hard and he tied for 30th, for his best finish since the Hero Indian Open win.

“I have been fortunate to play at some of the most historic courses and the Gullane Golf Club is going to be another addition to that list,” Lahiri said.

“Gullane is a typical Links terrain course and is very exposed, so the wind, as expected will come into play a lot.

That is great preparation for next week's Major. I am sure there will be some showers, too, though Europe this has had a hot summer,” he added.

Lahiri will play the first round with Y.E.Yang, the only Asian to have a won a Major, and Andy Sullivan, who like Lahiri has won two events on the European Tour this season.

Jeev is paired with Fabrizio Zanotti and Daniel Berger and the Indian's victory at the 2012 Scottish Open will be a big motivation for Jeev to feed off those memories. Kapur plays the first two days with Jason Barnes and Craig Sutherland.

The field is very strong, even though Rory McIlroy had to pull out due to a ligament injury sustained during a friendly soccer game with friends. But with Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson, the last two 

winners in the field, it will be a great event.

While the field is very strong, the withdrawal of Rory McIlroy, winner of the 2014 Open and PGA Championships, because of a rupture of an ankle ligament will be a dampener of sorts. That will also be a big setback for McIlroy, who was preparing to defend his two Majors in the next two months.