(PGTI) calendar for the first quarter of the 2012 season

New Delhi, December 15, 2011: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) has announced its calendar for the first quarter of the 2012 season. The first quarter of 2012 will witness as many as nine tournaments.

The season tees-off with the Rs. 2 million Bangladesh Open in Dhaka on 19^th January which will be followed by back-to-back events till the end of March, with a couple of breaks in between. The complete schedule for the 2012 season will be released in February 2012.

The first three months of 2012 boast a strong international flavour with as many as four international events, carrying over US$ 3.1 million in prize money, being staged in India and the PGTI travelling to two foreign countries.

Tournament Schedule 1.     Jan 19-22: Bangladesh Open, Dhaka – Rs. 2 million 2.     Jan 26-29: Gujarat Kensville Challenge, Ahmedabad – euro 200,000 3.     Feb 9-12: Promoter Event, Noida – Rs. 3 million 4.     Feb 16-19: Avantha Masters – euro 1.8 million 5.     Feb 23-26: SAIL Open – US$ 300,000 6.     Mar 8-11: Louis Philippe, Bangalore – Rs. 11.4 million 7.     Mar 15-18: Surya Nepal Masters, Kathmandu – Rs. 2.5 million 8.     Mar 22-25: Promoter Event – Rs. 4 million 9.     Mar 29-Apr 1: Panasonic Open – US$ 300,000

The Bangladesh Open will be followed by the European Challenge Tour and PGTI co-sanctioned Gujarat Kensville Challenge, a euro 200,000 event, which will be held at Ahmedabad. The Avantha Masters, a euro 1.8 million event co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and PGTI, returns on the PGTI calendar from 16^th to 19^th February.

The SAIL Open and Panasonic Open are the other two international events scheduled for the first quarter. Both these events are co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI and offer a prize purse of US$ 300,000 each.

The Louis Philippe Cup makes its debut on the PGTI in the second week of March in Bangalore. This tournament offers a handsome prize purse of Rs. 11.4 million and features a new and exciting format wherein the professionals will play for various city-based teams.

The Surya Nepal Masters in Kathmandu, a Rs. 2.5 million event, will be PGTI’s second tournament outside India in the first quarter.

Commenting on the 2012 schedule, Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said, “The challenges in 2011 made us revisit our short-term and long-term strategies and we are confident we will emerge stronger for the coming years. We would like to thank all our partners and sponsors and look forward to continued support for the growth of the sport.”

   

About PGTI:

Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognized official body of professional golf in India. PGTI’s objective is to promote professional golf in the country as well as give players an opportunity to be involved in decision making for all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Gautam Thapar (President), PGTI’s governing body comprises of leading Indian golf professionals such as Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur, SSP Chowrasia, Digvijay Singh, Uttam Singh Mundy, Amritinder Singh and Ranjit Singh. PGTI currently has over 300 members.