Strong field at PGTI Pahalgam Masters

Pahalgam, July 1, 2014: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is all set to storm Jammu & Kashmir after a lengthy absence when the PGTI Pahalgam Masters tees off on Wednesday. The tournament carries a prize purse of Rs. 30 lakh, to be shared among a strong field of Indian and international golfers.

The venue is the picturesque Lidder Valley Golf Course in Pahalgam, which will host the event from July 2 – 5, 2014, at the. A Pro-Am event will also be played on July 6, 2014. This will be the first ever professional event for men at Pahalgam.

Jyoti Randhawa, a former top ranking Asian professional and Rashid Khan, winner of the India Golf Awards Upcoming Player for 2013, will feature among a packed entry list, filled with potential winners. Shamim Khan, Chiragh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Digvijay Singh, Chikkarangappa and Shubhankar Sharma headline the many contenders in action this week.

There are international golfers too – Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, K Prabagaran, N Thangaraja, Aussie Kunal Bhasin and Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah shall also be seen in action. Mithun Perera is currently second in the Rolex Rankings (PGTI Order of Merit) and thus the highest-ranked PGTI golfer in the field.

The host state has also been allowed the privilege of fielding their own – six professionals and four amateurs from the state are in the field – Bhawani Singh Parmar, Showkat Maqbool Pandow, Fayaz Ahmed Langoo, Shabir Pandow, Rafiq Pandow and Raghav Wahi. The four amateurs are Majid Khan, Sanjeev Singh, Zubair Hasan Zargar and Arsalan Aijaz.

Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad, Chairman & CEO, J&K Bank, said, “Even as we are commercial in nature, we are conscious of our responsibility towards holistic development of J&K State. As a responsible corporate citizen of the soil, among other things, our larger objective has been to promote sports culture in the state and sponsoring events like PGTI Pahalgam Masters is part of this objective.”

Announcing the event, Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said, “We are excited about making our first foray into the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The breathtaking surroundings of the Lidder Valley Golf Course, challenging course conditions, a highly competitive field and an impressive prize purse of Rs. 30 lakh, make for a riveting week of golf.”

Reporting by Anand Datla

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