By Rahul Banerji
The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) season-ending Rs 1.5 crore Tata Steel Tour Championship will be played at Jamshedpur’s Golmuri Golf Course and hosted by the Tata Steel Group from Thursday to Sunday this week.
The event is restricted to the top 60 in the PGTI Order of Merit plus invites and will this year feature an elite field of 74 professionals.
After a break last year, the season-ending Tour Championship is back and will be a 72-hole stroke-play championship with no cut applied after 36 holes, this guaranteeing prize money for every entrant in the field.
Besides the top 60 players from the current Order of Merit (59 of whom are in the field) including current India’s highest ranked golfer, Rashid Khan, 15 invitations have been accepted for the event.
Solid incentive
Rashid is in fact the only male Indian professional within striking distance of the top 200 in the Official Golf World Rankings, for which he will need to finish in the top two at Jamshedpur.
If he does not do so, it will be the first time since 2001 India will not have male representation in that club, marking a somewhat disappointing year overall without a single international win to an Indian name.
Meanwhile, Tata Steel’s invitees include golfing legend Jeev Milkha Singh (13 international wins), Gaganjeet Bhullar (10 international wins), Jyoti Randhawa (nine international wins) and S.S.P. Chawrasia (six international wins).
While Jeev will be making his maiden appearance in Jamshedpur, Jyoti, SSP and Gaganjeet have all competed at the Tata Open in Jamshedpur in the past.
Dose of nostalgia
Chawrasia, a three-time winner of the Tata Open in 2003, 2005 and 2006, returns to play in Jamshedpur after nearly 12 years. Jyoti Randhawa, runner-up at the Tata Open in 2011, and Bhullar will be teeing it up in the Steel City after eight years and 12 years respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjiv Paul, vice-president, Safety, Health and Sustainability, Tata Steel and also captain of Jamshedpur Golf, said, “Tata Steel is committed to the development of sports in India and has always been in the forefront of nurturing and supporting sporting talent.
“The association with PGTI is a natural outcome of our shared goal of promoting competition at the highest level of golf. The Tata Steel Tour Championship will see the top professionals of the country in action and it promises to be an engaging four days in Jamshedpur.
“We have made improvements to the golf course to make it more challenging and one of the best layouts in India. It is only befitting that top players of the country are participating in this year’s edition”, he added.
Said PGTI chief executive Uttam Singh Mundy, “The blue-riband event of the Tata Steel PGTI calendar promises to be a delight for golf fans as some of the leading stars of Indian golf including legends such as Jeev, Jyoti, S.S.P. Chawrasia and Gaganjeet will be in action at the magnificent Golmuri Golf Club.
“The tournament will also have the added excitement of the race for the Order of Merit title.”
Also read: Abhinav Lohan makes PGTI breakthrough at Bengaluru Open
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