Edited by Anand Datla
Bengaluru, 28th October, 2014: Asian Tour regular SSP Chowrasia (ranked 11th on Asian Tour Order of Merit) will lead India’s attack along with Chikkarangappa S, Shubhankar Sharma and Khalin Joshi ranked 4th, 5th and 9th respectively on the PGTI Order of Merit. They will look to pose a stern challenge to the Asian Development Tour (ADT) players in the inaugural TAKE Solutions India Masters that starts at EagletonGolf Resort from tomorrow.
The curtain raiser of the tournament, the Pro-Am event was won by Bengalore’s Chikkarangappa S and his team comprising of Mr. Virender Razdan, Mr. TarunKunjru and Mr. Arjun Srivatsava today with nett score of 51.5. Another Bangalore golfer R. Murthy helped his team finish second which comprised of amateurs Mr. Dhananjay Naidu, Mr. Sunny Ahuja and Mr. LDarshan with the nett score of 51.6.
While the field of the Indian players looks strong, Niall Turner of Ireland and American Brett Munson, placed 3rd and 4th on the current Order of Merit of ADT, will try their best to put up a great show at the US$70,000 event, which is the first ADT event to be held in India.
The launch of the TAKE Solutions India Masters will raise the 2014 ADT schedule to an unprecedented 21 tournaments, which includes 12 tournaments in Malaysia, three in Chinese Taipei, three in the Philippines and two in Indonesia.
The latest addition on the ADT will also provide another opportunity for players, especially from India, to boost their ADT rankings. With only three events remaining this season, players will have everything to play for as the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit will earn the coveted Asian Tour cards for 2015.
Chowrasia, who sits at the 11th position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit following four top-five finishes on the premier Tour this season, is glad to throw his support behind the TAKE Solutions India Masters, which he deemed as a positive development for golf in India.
SSP Chowrasia said, “It’s very good for Indian golf as it creates a new playing opportunity. I’m happy to support this new tournament by playing in it as it is a wonderful effort towards the growth of the game. I’m looking forward to competing with my best efforts and await an exciting conclusion at the end of the week.”
Khalin Joshi who won the PGTI Players Championship at Noida Golf Course last week, is also eager to step up his game at his first ADT event this week. “Being the first ADT event in India, I have great expectations and I’m really looking forward to it. I believe that this is a step ahead for India as it gives Indian players a chance to play alongside other golfers from Asia which will in turn will help us learn and improve our game,” said 22-year-old Joshi.
Munson, who has been battling with a poor run of form recently, hopes to turn his fortunes around as he chases his second ADT victory this week. “I haven’t been doing anything very well recently. My ball striking has been a little off and my putting was poor but I have been practising a lot and I am looking forward to this week,” said the 28-year-old Munson.
“The season’s been good so far. I had a good start to the season with my first ADT win in Malaysia and I’ve played pretty solid in most of the events. My aim is to remain in top-five on the merit rankings till the end of the season so as to secure my Asian Tour card for 2015,” added Munson, who is playing in his first year in Asia.
The ADT was launched by the Asian Tour in 2010 with five tournaments and grew to 16 events in 2013, and currently stands at 21 events for the 2014 season. Since last year, all ADT events also receive an Official World Golf Ranking points which is tremendous for the development of the game across the region.
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