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NEW DELHI: Indian golf has received a boost with the launch of a
fourth Asian Tour event offering prize-money totaling $400,000,
organizers said Tuesday.
The inaugural SAIL Open tees off at Jaypee
Greens, Noida in north India from February 20 to 23.
The $400,000 tournament will be sanctioned by
the Asian Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and has
attracted leading Indian stars such as Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun
Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa.
“Indian golf has finally come of age. The
prize money in Indian golf, as also Asian golf, is now commensurate
with the quality that we have,” PGTI Tour Commissioner Ajai Gupta
said.
“I am sure the emergence of the SAIL Open at
Jaypee Greens as a new event on Indian soil and on the Asian Tour
will further enhance India’s contribution to the promotion of the
sport in the continent.”
Golf has taken off in India in recent years,
with the country set to host two multimillion-dollar events next
month—the Indian Masters and the Johnnie Walker Classic, both
offering $2.5 million in prize-money.
The SAIL Open, sponsored by the Steel Authority
of India, will raise the number of Asian Tour tournaments in India
to four this season, placing it second behind China which presently
has five tournaments on the 2008 Asian Tour schedule.
-- AFP
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