Kashmir Masters set for tee off

Srinagar, July 8, 2014: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), ‘the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India’, will stage the inaugural PGTI Kashmir Masters presented by KEO from July 9 – 12, 2014, at the world-renowned Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar. The tournament, the third of seven Super Series events scheduled in 2014, carries an attractive prize purse of Rs. 50 lakh. The Pro-Am event will be played on July 13, 2014.

The tournament will feature a galaxy of Indian stars such as former Asia no. 1 Jyoti Randhawa, reigning Rolex Rankings champion Rashid Khan and Asian Tour regulars SSP Chowrasia, Himmat Singh Rai, Rahil Gangjee and Chiragh Kumar. The other leading Indian golfers in the field include Shamim Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Chikkarangappa and Shubhankar Sharma, to name a few.

The foreign challenge will be lead by Sri Lankan Mithun Perera, who is currently ranked second in the Rolex Rankings. The other top foreign professionals in the field are Sri Lankans K Prabagaran, N Thangaraja, Australian Kunal Bhasin, Shivaram Shrestha of Nepal and Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah.

The tournament will also feature six professionals and five amateurs from the host state of Jammu & Kashmir. The professionals are Bhawani Singh Parmar, Showkat Maqbool Pandow, Fayaz Ahmed Langoo, Shabir Pandow, Rafiq Pandow and Raghav Wahi. The four local amateurs are Majid Khan, Sanjeev Singh, Zubair Hasan Zargar, Naseer Kachroo and Sanjay Wahi.

Seven events will be staged as part of the PGTI Super Series in 2014 with a total prize purse of Rs. 4.5 crore. Points are allocated for each event of the Super Series. The player with the highest points at the end of the seven Super Series events stands to earn a bonus of Rs. 30 lakh. Shubhankar Sharma, the winner of the season’s second Super Series event, currently leads the Super Series points table with 1115 points. Anirban Lahiri is in second place with 968.5 points followed by Rahil Gangjee in third place at 686.3 points.

Mr. Danish Aman, Director, Kashmir Events Organisation (KEO), “I feel that professional golf is the best way to exhibit the fabulous golf courses we have in Kashmir and I am sure that these tournaments will go a long way in promoting Kashmir as a major Golfing destination in the country.”

Announcing the event, Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said, “We are delighted to bring men’s professional golf back to Srinagar after a 10-year hiatus. The magnificent Royal Springs Golf Course is set to witness an exhilarating week of golf as a highly-competitive field vies for the handsome prize purse of Rs. 50 lakh and vital Super Series points. We thank Royal Springs Golf Course & KEO for partnering with us in staging this event and seek to build on our partnership with them with the objective of promoting professional golf in Srinagar and the rest of Jammu & Kashmir.”

The Royal Springs Golf Course is ranked among the most beautiful courses in Asia. The course designed by Robert Trent Jones II has taken full advantage of the undulating foot spurs of the Zabarwan Mountains that descend onto the shores of the famed Dal Lake. The 6445 metres course at a par of 72, offers a challenge to all levels of players. The course designer has crafted out of the natural setting a combination of aesthetic delight and golfing pleasure.