Anirban Lahiri's show inspires Viraj Madappa at Asia-Pacific golf

Hong Kong Viraj Madappa who will spearhead Indias challenge at the AsiaPacific Amateur Championship ACC golf tournament starting Wednesday feels Anirban Lahiris exploits will definitely act as an inspiration for him and his countrymates in Hong KongThe 17yearold Kolkataboy the highest ranked Indian amateur and the fourth best in this field of 120 will be hoping to make his third appearance at the AAC count when he tees up tomorrow in the company of two other youngsters who are ranked higher than himWith place at the Masters at stake Madappa is hoping to emulate Lahiri who made his debut and made the cut at the Masters this year Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal are the only other Indians to have teed up at the AugustaGetting a chance to play for a berth in the Masters or the Open is a huge incentive says the sixfoottwo Madappa The achievements of Anirban Lahiri are a big incentive for all us and he is a role model of sorts for all upcoming players he addedBesides Madappa 23yearold Samarth Dwivedi who has vast experience including playing at the Asian Games in 2014 is another Indian bet in the tournamentDwivedi was born in Allahabad but honed his skills in Thailand where his parents were based and is now playing regularly in India Fairly successful on domestic circuit he is making his debut at the AACThe prize for the winner and even runnerup is quite attractive The winner gets a ticket to the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta and both the winner and runnerup will be eligible to compete in the Open qualifying series Asia or Australasia for the 2016 Open Championship and the winner also gets an invite to the 2016 Qatar MastersThe Indian team Manager AK Singh accompanying the team added He Madappa does have the ability to contend for the title and is very talentedDespite working on a new swing with his coach Indrajit Bhalotia a wellknown pro till a few years ago Madappa is hoping to substantially improve the finishes at AAC on his previous two appearances iquest he was Tied34 in 2013 and Tied59 last year is coming in after a fine win in 2015 Taiwan Amateur Championships this JuneMadappa also played the AsiaPacific Mistubishi Diamond Professional event last week in Japan but missed the cut He has improved great deal since last years AsiaPacific Amateur Championships having won seven times since then including the Taiwan Amateur titleThe other five Indians in the team include Dwivedi who has loads of experience Aman Raj current leader on Indian Golf Unions Merit list and Indias second best in 2014 AsiaPacific Karandeep Kochhar Priyanshu Singh and Veer AhlawatWhile Australian Antonio Murdaca gushed about his experience at the Masters playing alongside Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott in the first round teen prodigy and 2012 winner Guan Tianlang of China wants to win the AAC once again and get back to Augusta where he became the youngest ever to make the cut in 2013Australian Ryan Ruffels son of former Davis Cup tennis player Ray Ruffels but who was born in Florida starts the event as the highest ranked amateur in the field at No 8 At the same time Murdaca wants to have another taste of the Masters before giving pro golf a serious thought The same is the case with Guan who has fallen outside Top100 in World Amateur rankingsApart from Guan past champions include twotime champion Japanese Hideki Matsuyama now one of the leading players in the world who is in Top10 and has finished in top20 of all four majors after turning professional in 2013