The unwritten manual of Valderrama states that the number of times you play it is directly proportional to your chances of victory. More rounds, equal to more chances of winning. Behind this urban legend there is an absolute obviousness: do not be fooled, this happens with all the fields in the world. The more you play it, the more you know it and the better you do. However, and here is the peculiarity, it is true that in Valderrama this inertia can be a bit more pronounced because it is a very strategic field, where a meter here or there, a bounce here or there, can change the hole dramatically, transforming a clear birdie option into a bogey or worse. If we add to this some very tricky greens, we have the unwritten law more than endorsed.
Going by the manual, the outstanding leadership of Anirban Lahiri (-7), with a four-stroke lead over Danny Lee (-3) and five over Eugenio Chacarra (-2), Martin Kaymer (-2) and Tyrrell Hatton (-2) should be considered a surprise. After all, the good Anirban, a 37-year-old Indian golfer born in the populous (which is not in India) city of Pune, is playing in Valderrama for the first time in his life. In his brief stint on the European Tour, he barely played a more or less full calendar in 2015, he did not visit Andalusia. How can it be then that someone who has barely played two rounds in Valderrama is at the top of the leaderboard with two very strong rounds of 69 and 66 strokes? There are professional golfers who have spent their entire lives playing in the coliseum of Jaime Ortiz Patiño and do not add up two rounds below 70 strokes.
The first answer to that particular million-dollar question is that there may be some luck involved. Let’s not forget that this is a sport where chance comes into play. Lahiri is playing very well, correct, he is failing very little, agreed, and on top of that today he has putted like an alien and has put one in from outside on the 18th. It could be said that everything is coming together for him. However, there is another more scientific explanation, which will satisfy lovers of the empirical, those who need to touch to believe.
Lahiri is a debutant with a trick. He has never been to Valderrama before, but he has done very well on courses that we could compare to Sotogrande for the challenge they pose. The first is the Delhi Golf Club, home for many years of the Indian Open. Between 2013 and 2016 (it was not played in 2014) the worst Lahiri did on this course was to finish second. He won in 2015 and was close in 2013 and 2016. The Delhi Golf Club is a layout much shorter than Valderrama, but where you also have to deal with trees in a big way. Strategy is a degree. “Valderrama reminds me a lot of the Delhi Golf Club where I have had a lot of success. It penalises from the tee and you have to control yourself. The mentality is very similar, and I think that helps me because I have won a lot of times there,” he says.
In addition, Anirban has lived in Florida since 2015 and his home base, where he usually trains, is the Bears Golf Club, a 1999 design by Jack Nicklaus. Here, the Golden Bear, wanted to create a course in the image and likeness of Muirfield Village, his masterpiece in Ohio. That is, it is a very demanding course. In fact, it is considered by many to be the most difficult course in Florida. It could be said that yes, Lahiri is a debutant in Valderrama, but he is hardened.
Lahiri has shown that he can play very well in Valderrama. The victory is in his hand, but he still has to overcome the last Rubicon, probably the most difficult. He is a winner and his record says so. He has 18 victories, but with a notable peculiarity. All of them have been in Asia. He has never won outside his continent of origin. In addition, it has been a long time since he tasted the sweetness of victory. Specifically since 2016, eight years ago, when he won in Macao. At LIV Golf he was close to winning the tournament that premiered, Boston 2022, but ended up falling in the playoff against Dustin Johnson.
Arniban is the one who has made the most of much more favourable conditions in Valderrama. The wind did not blow on Friday and that is the reason why we have gone from seven players under par after the first day to the 19 that have been recorded today. In addition, thirteen have gone below 70 strokes. In principle, the forecast for Sunday is very similar to today’s, something that surely benefits a golfer who has a four-stroke lead. We will see.
