India's Lahiri confident entering WGC Doral test

MIAMI: India's Anirban Lahiri, who has jumped to 34th in world rankings after two wins last month, makes his first start in the World Golf Championships event at Doral this week.

And the 27-year-old Asian Tour number one hopes his debut at the Cadillac Championship signals the start of greater things in America as he dreams of becoming his homeland's first major winner.

"It's quite amazing so much has changed," Lahiri said. "I didn't expect to be in this situation that I am now. I'm happy it has come and it's a fantastic time. I'm at a point in my career where I hope to move westward and the wins have helped. I'm excited."

Lahiri won the Malaysian Open and Indian Open in a span of three weeks, giving him four titles in the past 10 months, and his ranking now puts him in position to play all four majors and grab a spot for the International team in this year's Presidents Cup.

This week will give Lahiri a test of how he stands against the US PGA elite. In his first WGC event, the HSBC Champions in Shanghai last year, Lahiri shared 28th.

"There will be a lot of firsts for me," Lahiri said. "I'm really eager for all that. It's exciting times ahead and I will approach them in a similar manner. I'm trying to get better every day and will continue to work hard at improving my skills.

"One of the main things is to gain the experience of playing in the Majors and WGCs, playing well in them and in different conditions. It's all about learning as I go along and hopefully maybe I can get into the top-10 and vie for the number one spot.

"I just need to keep playing well and keep playing more in the big events to build up my confidence and ability to compete against the top players."

India golf trailblazers Arjun Atwal and Jeev Milkha Singh have won events in Europe and the United States. Lahiri hopes to follow that path and takes his first crack at a major title next month at the Masters, but he is realistic about his expectations.

"No doubt, there's massive room for improvement," Lahiri said. "A huge area to make big strides is with my short game and I want to take my fitness level up as well. I know that I need to learn to be comfortable when I am playing in different conditions."