By Rahul Banerji
The 2020 men’s professional golf season gets rolling at the Hyderabad Golf Club with the Rs 40 lakh Vooty and Haldi Presents Golconda Masters Golf Championship from Wednesday.
Though 2018 winner Chikkarangappa S. is not present to defend his title, a field of 126 that includes three amateurs will tee off at the event that is powered by Telengana Tourism and hosted by the Hyderabad Golf Association.
Top names in the Golconda Masters fray at the 6,200-yard par-71 venue include Asian Tour regulars Rashid Khan (2019 PGTI Order of Merit champion and top Tokyo Olympic contender), Khalin Joshi, Aman Raj and Viraj Madappa.
Also present are former champions Udayan Mane (2018) and Harendra Gupta (2015), while the overseas contingent will see Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, N. Thangaraja and K. Prabagaran as well as Bangladesh’s Md Dulal Hossain and Md Sayum in action.
Local challenge
The local challenge will be led by Hyderabad-based players including professionals Haider Hussain, Mohd Azhar, Venkkat Gautham and Rupinder Singh Gill besides amateurs Hardik S. Chawda, Rahul Ajay and Shawn Reddy.
Former India hockey captain Dilip Tirkey is in the field and will be playing his first event as a professional at the Golconda Masters.
Tirkey, a three-time Olympian and Asian Games gold medallist, had last month played the PGTI Qualifying School 2020 in Ahmedabad.
B. Venkatesham, Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture secretary in the Government of Telangana, said, “We are delighted to be associated with the sixth edition of the Golconda Masters.
‘Perfect platform’
“The tournament provides us the perfect platform to showcase Telangana and Hyderabad as a top-class tourist destination.
“It also helps us promote the majestic Hyderabad Golf Club as a world-class golfing destination as it is a one-of-its-kind golfing venue set against the backdrop of the historic Golconda Fort.”
Added HGA president J. Vikramdev Rao, “We loos forward to hosting the sixth edition of the Golconda Masters which has over the years emerged as one of the marquee events on the PGTI.
“The depth of the field this year and the top-class playing conditions at the golf course, make for an exciting week of golfing action.”
Also read: Age no bar for Arjun Singh who wins PGTI Qualifying School at 50
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