Lahiri eyeing first Asian Tour win

India’s Anirban Lahiri is confident he can notch up his first Asian Tour win outside India after enjoying a fruitful first half of the 2013 season.

The talented Lahiri came agonisingly close to winning the Selangor Masters on Sunday after missing a birdie putt on the last hole which would have forced a play-off with eventual winner Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand.

The three-time Asian Tour winner was delighted with the conventional putter which he put in his bag for two tournaments.

“I’ve been putting good with the short putter. I holed a lot of long putts than I would normally have with the belly putter. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with this under pressure, so you’ll find out what I’ll bring out in September,” said the 25-year-old, who will use the conventional length putter for two more domestic events before determining what goes into his bag for the second half of the season.

After featuring in nine tournaments, the Indian, who sits in eighth position on the Order of Merit, reckons he needs to remain composed to win outside his comfort zone.

“I guess I have to wait a little longer for that win outside India. I’m really happy with the way I played. It was good to be in this position at the Queen’s Cup as well although it was a different story on Sunday. I learned from that. I stayed patient, kept my focus. I made a few mistakes but my temperament was much better than in the past. I took in a lot of positives,” said Lahiri.

Lahiri remained gracious in defeat after finishing second, which swelled his earnings to $139,380 this season.