Anirban Lahiri proved his talent away from the golf course in a DP World Port Simulation Challenge in Jebel Ali against Danny Willett and Ian Poulter.
The European Tour players only arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday night after playing in the BMW Masters in Shanghai, but they dived straight into the action as a Bell 429 VVIP helicopter flew them from their base at Atlantis, The Palm to a DP World helipad at Jebel Ali port.
The players swapped polo shirts and sunglasses for Hi Vis vests and safety goggles as they competed against each other on a Port Challenge Simulator that saw them tasked with moving stacked freight containers onto the dock in a JCB.
For the television stunt for DP World, Title Sponsor of this week’s DP World Tour Championship and The European Tour, whoever lost the challenge between the three would have to walk home rather than ride in the helicopter, which upped the ante considerably.
Although Danny Willett is ranked the highest of the three at Number Two in The Race to Dubai, the Englishman couldn’t display the same amount of skill on the challenge as he only managed to move three ports in the allocated time.
Up next was Ian Poulter. The Englishman, ranked 37th in The Race to Dubai, was in a focused mood and shifted four containers into the correct position. It was a particularly impressive effort given that Willett cheekily persuaded the instructor to make the conditions harder for his compatriot by adding wind and snow to the simulated challenge.
Willett’s walk home was confirmed when Lahiri was invited up for to the simulator. The Indian held his nerve brilliantly and even performed the maneuvers in darkness and fog to win the challenge by moving five containers.
