Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

ASIAN TOUR STARS LIGHT UP LIV GOLF INDIA’S LAHIRI FINISHES RUNNER-UP THRICE IN 13 STARTS; VINCENT LOCKS HIS CARD WITH CLUTCH PERFORMANCE L IV Golf consolidated its position as one of the most pre-eminent global tours in professional golf in 2023, and Asian Tour stars played a key role in the process. American Talor Gooch won the 2023 individual title, while Bryson DeChambeau- led Crushers GC, which included the 2015 Asian Tour number one Anirban Lahiri, triumphed in the Team Championship. However, in between the season-opener at Mayakoba and the Team Championship in Miami, followed by the first-ever Promotions event in Abu Dhabi, players with links to the Asian Tour held their own against the extraordinary league of superstars. Lahiri was the best-placed among all Asian Tour alums – if you discount the one season Cameron Smith spent as a member – finishing 13th in the individual standings. The only contracted Asian player in the League, the Indian enjoyed a spectacular season with three individual second-place finishes (Adelaide, Bedminster and Chicago), two team wins and the Team Championship. “I should not be complaining after a season like that, but I will. It was frustrating to come so close on various occasions, and not get the job done. I can understand Adelaide and Bedminster, where I was coming from far behind the leaders, but I should have done much better on Sunday in Chicago,” said the 36-year-old from Bengaluru, who played 13 events and missed Orlando as he had to rush back to India for a family emergency. Lahiri’s spectacular bogey-free Sunday round of seven-under par 65 on a demanding Doral was critical in Crushers’ Team Championship win as his team edged the RangeGoats by two shots. The other player with Asian Tour roots who finished inside the Lock Zone (the top-24 on the individual standings) at the end of the regular season in Jeddah was Zimbabwean Scott Vincent, after a most remarkable effort at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. Vincent, who secured his playing privilege for 2023 by winning The International Series Order of Merit the year before, was 31st going into Jeddah. The only mathematical chance of climbing inside the top-24 was if he finished inside the top-four in the tournament and then other results fell his way. Winner of the International Series England in 2022 on the Asian Tour and a three-time Kieran Vincent [LEFT] successfully negotiated the LIV Golf Promotions event, while Talor Gooch [FAR RIGHT] won the LIV Golf League individual title. 148