Jamshedpur, Dec 18 (IANS) Top Indian stars like defending champion Gaganjeet Bhullar, who also won the title in the 2020 and 2023 champion, SSP Chawrasia, the 2023 PGTI Ranking champion Om Prakash Chouhan will be among the favourites in the PGTI Tour Championship at the Beldih and Golmuri golf courses in Jamshedpur from December 19 to 22.
The tournament, being organised by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and the Tata Steel Group, offers a prize purse of INR 3 crore, the biggest on the PGTI. The field will feature an elite field of 62 professionals. The Tata Steel Tour Championship is the final event of the 2024 PGTI season. The tournament is a 72-hole stroke-play championship and there will be no cut applied. There is guaranteed prize money for all participants.
The event will have a format which will be different from the usual events. In all four rounds, half the field will play their first nine holes at Golmuri and second nine at Beldih while the other half will play their first nine at Beldih and second nine at Golmuri. From round two onwards, the leading/front half of the leaderboard (leading groups as per the scores) will play their first nine holes at Golmuri and second nine at Beldih. The prize presentation ceremony will be held at Beldih Golf Club on Sunday (December 22).
The tournament will feature a glittering field including some of the biggest names in Indian golf, besides Gaganjeet Bhullar, SSP Chawrasia, Om Prakash Chouhan, PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat, former champion Udayan Mane (2019 & 2021 champion), Rahil Gangjee, Manu Gandas and Yuvraj Sandhu, to name a few.
The 2024 PGTI Ranking champion will be announced at the end of the event. The 2024 PGTI No. 1 will earn a full card on the DP World Tour for the 2024 season.
D.B Sundara Ramam, Vice President, Raw Materials Division, Tata Steel cum Jamshedpur Golf Captain said, “At Tata Steel, we have always championed sports as a medium to inspire excellence and build communities. Hosting the PGTI tournament in Jamshedpur this year too underscores our commitment to nurturing golf and providing a platform for players to showcase their talent. As the Jamshedpur Golf Captain, it is particularly gratifying to see this championship held on our greens, reflecting our city’s deep connection to the game. We look forward to an exciting weekend of outstanding performance and camaraderie among players and enthusiasts alike.”
Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “The season’s showpiece event featuring the top 60 players in the current Order of Merit along with invitees, promises yet another week of exhilarating golf as a stellar field will descend on the two outstanding venues of Beldih & Golmuri in Jamshedpur to compete for the biggest prize of the season. The event raises further interest among golf fans in the country as it will also decide the 2024 TATA Steel PGTI Ranking champion. We wish the players all the best.”
The two venues, Beldih & Golmuri golf courses, are both lush green, beautiful, and very well-maintained, with the charming Dalma Hills in the background. While the Beldih Golf Course flaunts long fairways, Golmuri Golf Course is a smaller, greener, boutique course disallowing golfers any room for error.
–IANS
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