Past Poona Club Golf Course captain Ikram Khan (from left), Tata Steel PGTI ranking leader Veer Ahlawat with local player Udayan Mane, club captain Jay Shirke and president Gaurav Gadhoke with the Poona Club Open trophy on Tuesday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
The inaugural Rs 1 crore Poona Club Open tees off on Tuesday with past and current rankings leaders Om Prakash Chouhan and Veer Ahlawat in the field as Pune hosts a PGTI event after two years.
A DP World (European) Tour card-holder till the current season ends, Chouhan will in all likelihood make way for Ahlawat on the tour with the Tata Steel PGTI rankings topper earning a slot in Europe for the following year.
Gurgaon’s Manu Gandas was the first beneficiary of the handshake between the two tours.
Also in the fray are Asian Tour members Rashid Khan and Karandeep Kochhar who played the Indonesian Masters at Jakarta last week, and recent winners Varun Parikh (Haryana Open) and Shaurya Bhattacharya (J&K Open).
The Rs 1 crore prize purse for the Poona Club Open is the highest-ever for an event in Pune, the PGTI said. It is being supported by the host venue Poona Club Golf Course, title sponsors Venky’s (India), Vencobb and NECC.
Others in the 126-strong field include Pune player Udayan Mane, the season’s only repeat winner Shaurya Binu, Sachin Baisoya, and Chennai Pro Championship winner Dhruv Sheoran, to name a few.
The overseas challenge will be led by the Czech Republic’s Stepan Danek, and Jamal Hossain, Badal Hossain, Md Akbar Hossain, and Md Jakiruzzaman Jakir of Bangladesh.
Also in are Sri Lankan professionals N. Thangaraja, and K, Prabagaran, Andorra’s Kevin Esteve Rigaill, Nepal’s Subash Tamang, Canada’s Sukhraj Singh Gill, Japan’s Makoto Iwasaki and Dominic Piccirillo and Digraj Singh Gill of the US.
Local representation
Pune will be represented by Rohan Dhole Patil, Pranav Mardikar, Akshay Damale, Pravin Pathare, Aaron Rockey, Gurki Shergill (a winner on the PGTI), Aditya Bhandarkar, Sameer M Shaikh, Rajiv Datar, Sandeep Phalnikar and Jaideep Patwardhan, and amateurs Arkin Patil, Aditya Garg and Avneesh Somayaji.
The first player to make a hole-in-one on the fourth hole will win a Nissan Magnite car.
Poona Club president Gaurav Gadhoke said at Tuesday’s launch, “This event offers a unique opportunity for members to witness a golfing spectacle and provides exposure to junior and amateur golfers to professional play.
“Additionally, the tournament serves to showcase the Poona Club Golf Course as a premier championship venue in the country.”
Added club captain Jay Shirke, Captain, “We’re excited to host leading Indian professionals at the inaugural edition of The Poona Club Open. The top-quality golf on display during the event will go a long way in inspiring our young golfers to achieve greater feats.
“We’ve worked towards providing the best playing conditions and we’re confident the professionals will relish the experience of playing at The Poona Club Golf Course.”
The Poona Club course spreads over 100 acres and is dotted with water bodies and known for its fast and true greens, having staged national level professional, amateur and junior events over the years.
Also read: Late run earns Shaurya Bhattacharya maiden win at J&K Open
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