By Rahul Banerji
Defending champion Manu Gandas headlines a classy field for the Delhi-NCR Open that tees off at the Noida Golf Course on Tuesday.
Gandas, who topped the 2022 domestic Order of Merit and is now a DP World (European) tour regular, will be joined by some of the top names on the domestic circuit and Asian Tour regulars.
The Tata Steel Professional Golf Tour of India event that ends on Friday will carry its highest-ever prize purse of Rs 1 crore, the PGTI said. The Pro-Am will be held on Saturday, April 8.
In the fray will be current money list topper and recent Challenge Tour winner Om Prakash Chouhan, Asian Tour card-holders Gaganjeet Bhullar and Rashid Khan among others.
Also in the 126-strong field are in-form golfers Aman Raj, Honey Baisoya and Udayan Mane, besides Khalin Joshi and Viraj Madappa.
Besides Rashid, Honey and Gandas, the other leading golfers from the Delhi-NCR region at the event include Sachin Baisoya, Shamim Khan, Abhinav Lohan and Amardeep Malik, to name a few.
The overseas challenge will be led by Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, N. Thangaraja, Anura Rohana, and K. Prabagaran.
They will be joined by Bangladesh golfers Jamal Hossain, Badal Hossain, Md Akbar Hossain, American Varun Chopra, Nepal’s Sukra Bahadur Rai, Canadians Sukhraj Singh Gill, Minwoo Park, Japan’s Makoto Iwasaki and Andorra’s Kevin Esteve Rigaill.
All three amateurs who will make a start on Tuesday – Ankur Prakash, Ishaan Sawhney and Parth Raman Sood – are from the Noida GC.
Major stop
“The Delhi-NCR Open has over the years emerged as an important stop for the PGTI in the region, one of the big golfing hubs in the country,” said PGTI chief executive U.S. Mundy.
“We’re delighted to announce a Rs. 1 crore event at the NGC for the first time. With an impressive prize purse at stake and a strong field vying for it, we can expect a spectacle of golf this week in Noida.”
Added NGC secretary Dr Steven Menezes, “We welcome the return of the Delhi-NCR Open to the Noida Golf Course. We look forward to staging our biggest-ever prize money event in partnership with the PGTI.
“The event is a great opportunity to provide exposure to our budding golfers as the depth in the field, the handsome prize purse on offer and excellent playing conditions set the stage for a highly competitive week of golf.
“It is our endeavour at the Noida Golf Course to support Indian professional golf through the staging of such events.”
Also read: Ice-cool Chouhan earns first int’l title at Black Bull Challenge
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