The sport of golf has not seen anything of this kind in the city and so it was with some pride that PGTI Director Padaamjit Sandhu said at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club here on Wednesday that the CG Open is one of the highlights of the PGTI calendar with high prize money of Rs. 1 crore.
Leading golfers like Digvijay Singh and S.S.P. Chowrasia and the 2011 Rolex rankings champion Chiragh Kumar are participating in the tournament that will conclude on Saturday.
Other notable names are Ashok Kumar, C. Muniyappa, Mukesh Kumar, Rashid Khan, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Harendra Gupta, Gaurav Ghei, Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera and Anura Rohana and Bangladesh’s Md. Zamal Hossain Mollah.
The CG Open and BILT Open at Delhi Golf Club (Oct. 10-13) will be the crucial phase to determine the two qualifiers for the Barclays Singapore Open to be played at the Sentosa Golf Club from Nov. 8 to 11.
Responding to a question on where the prize money is headed, Sandhu said: “There has been an exponential growth in the last five or six years, but it has been a phase of stabilising it (prize money) in the last two-and-a-half years.
“There has been a slowdown in economy, yet we were able to get two partners and sponsors in TEN, Incredible India, Volvo and Rolex. There is scope to increase the prize money by 15 to 20 per cent in the two or three years. We will focus on providing more opportunities in terms of events and coaching. We already hold five international events in India.”
