Kuala Lumpur:
Excited about their debut at next week's ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf, the Indian duo of Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri believe their appearance at the prestigious event will be a massive boost to the rise of a new generation of players from the country.
The World Cup debutants plan to bring glory to their nation with a strong showing at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia from November 21-24 as they vie for a lucrative prize pot of USD eight million in the 60-man field.
"The next generation of Indian golfers is taking over," said Bhullar.
"I guess we have to take up the responsibility. Times have changed, a lot of youngsters are coming up and playing well on the Asian Tour. I guess it shows the gap has narrowed between the younger generation and the veterans like Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal," he added.
Lahiri felt both he and Bhullar were being reaping the rewards of the hard work they did in the last two years.
"Both Gaganjeet and I have stepped our games up in the last 24 months and it is great that we get rewarded by playing in the World Cup."
The 25-year-old Bhullar and close friend Lahiri, who is a year older, have been pushing each other up the upper echelons of the Asian Tour.
They initially teamed up as amateurs to help India win the silver medal at the Asian Games in 2006 and in the past four seasons as pros, they have won a combined seven Asian Tour titles to cement their star status on the region's premier Tour.
To add the icing on the cake, Lahiri wants to put on a top show at Royal Melbourne to show that Indian golf is in good hands from the days when Singh, Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa brought glory by capturing the prestigious Asian Tour Order of Merit titles on four occasions.
"The World Cup of Golf is something that I'm looking forward to. A couple of years ago, Gaganjeet and I had a great chance at the qualifying event but we missed out. That was a heart break, so it will be nice to finally get to play," said Lahiri, who is ranked fourth on the Asian Tour following one victory and three runner-up finishes.
