R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, AUG 15
India Cements, the title sponsor and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India, on Monday jointly announced the 4-day India Cements Pro Championship 2023.
The tournament will be held at the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF) Cosmo Golf Course at Nandanam in Chennai from August 16 to 19. The event offers a prize purse of Rs 50 lakh. The Pro-Am event – a Pro player will be played with the amateur players on Tuesday (Aug 15).
- The event will witness participation of 126 golfers, including 123 professionals and three amateurs
- The prestigious tournament being held in the second half of 2023 TATA Steel PGTI season
- Bisleri’s Vedica Himalayan Spring Water to be the Tour Partner for PGTI
- Prize purse of Rs 50 lakh on offer, highest ever for an event in Chennai
- Om Prakash Chouhan, Aman Raj, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Jamal Hossain among the leading players to cheer up the Chennai crowd
The four-day tournament marks the beginning of the action-packed second half of the 2023 TATA Steel PGTI season. The India Cements Pro Championship 2023 offers the highest-ever prize purse for a men’s professional event in Chennai.
Vivid Golfer and patron of cricket N Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, India Cements and President, TNGF commented that, “Golf remains as one of the most celebrated sports across the world. India Cements has significantly contributed to the development of golf course in Chennai and organizing golf tournaments.
“As an avid golfer myself, I am very proud of the major role played by Tamil Nadu Golf Federation, formed in 1996 in transforming the golf course at Nandanam in Chennai, to modern standards. Over the years its membership has more than doubled and we see a large number of golf-loving expatriates and Indians playing at the Golf Course.”
Further, he said, “TNGF has spent lot of money in the last two decades and has transformed it into a lush green course equipped with modern facilities, better infrastructure, green keeping, trained manpower along with a golf academy for training budding golfers. More recently, TNGF has established a new Club House,” he added.
Addressing reporters, Parthasarathy Ramanujam, Chief Marketing Officer, India Cements and an avid golfer said, “India Cements has a rich sporting tradition and as a title sponsor, we are proud of the long awaited Pro Championship returning to Chennai.”
Replying to a query Tushar Malhotra, General Manager – Marketing, Bisleri International Pvt Ltd, said, “Bisleri Vedica Himalayan Spring water stands as the preferred option for the sophisticated, epicurean and health-conscious consumer. Our collaboration with Professional Golf Tour of India is the perfect association to celebrate life #FullOfAltitude.”
Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “We thank India Cements for partnering with us in launching the India Cements Pro Championship. With the support of India Cements, a great patron for sports in India, the growth story of Indian professional golf receives yet another major boost. I would personally like to thank N Srinivasan for sharing PGTI’s vision. It was N Srinivasan’s encouragement and support that helped PGTI make its long-awaited return to Chennai last season with the staging of its event at TNGF Cosmo Golf Course.”
He said, the event will witness participation of 126 golfers, including 123 professionals and three amateurs. The leading Indian professionals in the field include Om Prakash Chouhan (TATA Steel PGTI Rankings leader), Aman Raj, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Karan Pratap Singh, Sachin Baisoya and Gaurav Pratap Singh.
Replying to a query, HR Srinivasan, founder and Chairman of TAKE Solutions and President of PGTI said they will conduct only tournaments across the country and creating necessary infrastructure like golf course vest with the local authorities/federation.
R K Jhaver, Honorary Secretary, Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF), said, “We are delighted to host a PGTI tournament at the TNGF Cosmo Golf Course for the second year in succession. We look forward to a highly-competitive week of golf as the challenging layout and conditions at the TNGF Cosmo Golf Course will test the skills of India’s leading professionals. We have worked towards providing the best playing conditions and are confident that the players will relish the experience.”
The prominent foreigners who will cheer up in the field include Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain and Badal Hossain, Sri Lankans N Thangaraja and Mithun Perera, Japan’s Makoto Iwasaki and Nepal’s Sukra Bahadur Rai.
Leading national golfer Aman Raj was also at the press conference.
The local challenge will be led by Chennai-based professional C Arul.
TNGF Cosmo Golf Course is the Venue Partner, Crowne Plaza Chennai is the Hospitality Partner and Ballantine’s is the Associate Partner for the event.
The event is also supported by PGTI’s Tour Partners TATA Steel, Rolex, Amrutanjan Fruitnik Electro+, Golf Plus Monthly and Athletic Drive.
