Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) The Women’s Professional Golf Tour, which enters its fifth year this week, will have a new sponsor in Hero Honda.

The 10-event Tour, established in 2006 will carry a prize purse of over Rs.20 lakhs.

The first event will take place at Eagleton in Bangalore. There will be two events in Bangalore, three in the National Capital Region, two each in Chandigarh and Kolkata and one in Jaipur.

The Tour will travel through seven cities - Bangalore, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Panchkula, Chandigarh, Delhi and Kolkata and run from August to February.

Hero Honda in the past have backed the men’s Tour in India, besides sponsoring the Hero Honda Masters and currently the Indian Open.

Kavita Singh, president of the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI), said, “It is indeed a great day for us as Hero Honda have extended their helping hand to help the fledgling Tour grow in a big way. Their support this year and also in the coming years should see women’s golf take its rightful place as one of the growing avenues as a viable career for Indian sportswomen.”

From five events in the first year, the number of events, which have been around six to eight in the last three seasons, will grow to 10 for the first time this year. The Tour will also travel to Kolkata and Bengaluru for the first time this year. In addition, there will also be cash prizes for the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Putter of the Year.

Pawan Munjal, CEO Hero Honda Motors, and a keen golfer himself said, “Hero Honda has always supported Indian sports. Golf has been a big focus in addition to our commitment to other sporting disciplines such as cricket, hockey, football and the ongoing Queen’s Baton Relay and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Women’s professional golf is in a nascent stage in the country and we hope our support will help it grow in popularity and become one of the leading sports in India,” he added.

“We are hoping to expand the Tour to more cities with greater number of tournaments in the coming seasons,” added Champika Sayal, secretary general of the WGAI.

The leading women players — seasoned Simi Mehra, youngsters Sharmila Nicollet, Nalini Singh and Saaniya Sharma — welcomed the new sponsor.

Many more women golfers, who are currently amateur, are also expected to join the pro circuit after the Asian Games in November.

The schedule for Hero Honda Women’s Professional Golf Tour of India 2010

August 3-6:         1st Leg            Eagleton          Bangalore

August 9-12        2nd Leg             KGA             Bangalore

Sept 13,15-17    3rd Leg             DLF GCC        Gurgaon    

Sept 21-24        4th Leg             ITC Classic        Gurgaon

Sept 27-30        5th Leg            Rambagh GC    Jaipur

Dec 9-12        6th Leg            Panchkula GC    Panchkula

Dec 13-16        7th Leg            Chandigarh GC     Chandigarh

Dec 20-23        8th Leg            Qutab GC,         Delhi

Feb 1-4        9th Leg            Tollygunge Club     Kolkata

Feb 7-10        10th Leg            RCGC         Kolkata