By Rahul Banerji
Almost four months after its last event, the Delhi NCR Open, the Professional Golf Tour of India resumes its 2022 season in Coimbatore on Wednesday.
The Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship also sees the domestic tour return to the premier industrial city after a gap of eight years.
The Rs 50 lakh Players’ will be hosted at the Coimbatore Golf Club with the Pro-Am to be staged on Sunday, August 21.
Information technology company KGiSL is the presenting partner for the event that will see a field of 126 vie for a lucrative prize pot.
Besides 123 professionals, three amateurs will be seen in action at the highest-ever prize money event to be staged in Coimbatore. Rs 7.5 lakh awaits the winner with the runner-up taking away Rs 5 lakh.
Top Indian professionals are in the fray including Khalin Joshi, Manu Gandas, Shamim Khan and Abhijit Singh Chadha.
Prominent overseas players include Sri Lankans K. Prabagaran, who is also defending champion, and Mithun Perera as well as Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain.
Local challenge
The local challenge will be led by Coimbatore-based professional Sidhartha Sharathram and amateurs Shiv Karan, Bharat Ram S and Nitin Suresh.
“On behalf of the Coimbatore Golf Club, I am very happy to welcome the PGTI to our city,” said CGC president R. Gopinath.
“We have a golf course blessed with strong winds that has always been a deceptively tough course.
“With good rains recently, the course is in pristine condition and will offer a strong challenge to visiting golfers.
“It will be very interesting to see to what extent the top golf professionals of the country are able to rise to the challenge the conditions present.”
“I am sure a tournament of this stature will inspire more youngsters to take up golf and create more awareness among the public,” added Prassadh Shanmugham of KGiSL
“Being an avid golfer myself, I am looking forward to watching the PGTI pros in action.”
The Coimbatore Golf Club is a par-72, 6,540 yard course. The Palghat Hills, part of the Western Ghats, form the backdrop to the course.
Strong westerly winds from May to September make the course most challenging and for an errant golfer, the course can be extremely unforgiving.
And with much practice and preparation behind them, the pros will be itching to get back in action too.
Also read: Consistent Gandas lands third title with Delhi-NCR Open win
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