Thaindian News

Chennai, Aug 18 (IANS) The cream of Indian professionals will battle it out for honours in the Aircel Professional Golf Tour of India’s Madras Gymkhana Club Tamil Nadu Open tournament, from here Wednesday.
The tournament, offering a prize-money of Rs 20 lakh, and commemorating the club’s 125th year, will conclude Aug 22 while a Pro-Am is scheduled for the following day.

The star-studded field will include the likes of Mukesh Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Digvijay Singh, C. Muniyappa, Shamim Khan, Rahul Ganapathy, Harendra Gupta and local favourite, Sandeep Syal.

The venue - MGC, Chennai - was established in 1877 and boasts one of the oldest golf courses in the country - a venue for many prestigious tournaments. The MGC is one of only four courses in the world to be situated inside a race course. Its key features include thick rough, tough fairways, fast greens and windy conditions.

The inaugural edition of the Tamil Nadu Open was held here in 2008, when a group of golf enthusiasts in Chennai came together to promote golf in Tamil Nadu and bring competitive professional golf back to the state after a gap of three years.

The first edition was a grand success and witnessed participation from over 100 professionals and boasted prize money of Rs. 20 lakh.

Ishwar Achanta, treasurer and member in charge, golf, MGC, said: “The Madras Gymkhana Club is pleased to associate itself with the PGTI to co-host this event at Chennai, especially at a time when the Main Club is celebrating 125 years of its existence. Golf has been played at the Gymkhana since 1877, and we are indeed proud of this tradition that has been maintained without any let up.”

Padamjit Sandhu, director, PGTI, said: “The staging of the ‘Tamil Nadu Open 2009′ reaffirms the support for professional golf in the state. We are proud to partner with the Madras Gymkhana Club in their 125th year, and look forward to a successful tournament. We are confident the event will grow in stature in the years to come.”