December 13th 2010, New Delhi: Marking another major leap for
golf in India, the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad will
host the first-ever European Challenge Tour event in India from January
13-16, 2011. Tapping into the explosion of interest in golf across
India, the 200,000 euro Gujarat Kensville Challenge 2011 will make
Ahmedabad only the third city in the country to host an international
men’s golf tournament after New Delhi and Kolkata and will be the first
ever international event to be held in Western India.
The Government of Gujarat has taken on the mantle of title sponsors
along with the promoters Savvy Group who also own the Kensville Golf and
Country Club. After becoming the first Indian golfer to have a
signature course, India’s most successful golfer on the world stage Jeev
Milkha Singh will also hold the bragging rights for the first active
player from India to host an event. The tournament will also see his
participation as a player.
Speaking at the launch conference held today, Jeev said that the new
tournament would provide great impetus to the sport. “This is an
excellent development for Indian golf. Our golfers will benefit greatly
from so many international golf tournaments scheduled to be held in
India.”
After Kensville opened its gates in early 2009 to become the first
18-hole golf course in the state, the latest announcement gives Gujarat
another big first. The tournament which is co-sanctioned by the
Professional Golf Tour of India will see 114 golfers from across the
globe, including top Indian professional golfers, in action.
One of Indian film industry’s most recognizable faces—Amitabh Bachchan
—will mark his first tryst with golf as he inaugurates the tournament on
the pro-am day, which is scheduled to be held a day before the main
tournament. The dynamic Chief Minister of Gujarat - Narendra Modi – the
man behind putting Gujarat on the world map will himself felicitate the
winner and also will pull down the curtain on the event.
Kensville has played host to national amateur circuit tournaments in the
past but this will be the first international tournament to be held at
the Jeev Milkha Singh-signature course. Sameer Sinha, the MD of
Kensville Golf & Country Club said that the tournament marks one
more step towards making Gujarat an international golfing destination.
“We always wanted a championship golf course in the state and hosting an
European Challenge Tour event at our course is a great honour,” he
said. “It will also offer a great chance for local fans to get a glimpse
of international golf and also put us on the world golfing map,” he
added. The challenging layout is also one of the longest courses in the
country. With tight fairways demanding great accuracy off the tees, the
venue promises to offer a stern test to the golfers.
“This is just the kind of course young golfers need to get used to if
they hope to do well at the highest level,” said Jeev. Despite India
playing host to its first international golf tournament in 1964, the
spurt in the number of tournaments has only been witnessed in the last
few years. Jeev put that in perspective. “If we had so many world-class
tournaments during my early career, India would have had a Major
champion by now,” he said. “But I promise the day is not far especially
after what Arjun (Atwal) has achieved on the US soil. This event will
undoubtedly play a great role in enhancing the popularity of the sport,”
added the ace pro.
The Challenge Tour is the second tier professional golf tour in Europe
and is managed by the PGA European Tour. Introduced in 1986 the Tour now
spans various continents with substantial prize money and world ranking
points at stake. The past winners of the Challenge Tour order of merit
include Edoardo Molinari, Thomas Bjorn and Henrik Stenson.
Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI and Col. KD Bagga the designer of
Kensville Golf and Country Club were also present on the occasion.
Quotes from Alain de Soultrait, Director of the European Challenge Tour:
“This tournament has been five years in the making now, so we are
absolutely delighted to see it come to fruition. Inder Talwar and Sameer
Sinha first approached us with the idea of holding a Challenge Tour
event in India, and it is largely through their hard work and dedication
that this historic event is taking place. Making our debut in India is
the perfect way to start the 2011 Challenge Tour season, and we hope
this is the first of many tournaments in this fascinating country. We
have also worked closely with the PGTI to stage the tournament, and I
look forward to developing that relationship over the next three years
and beyond. The three-year agreement gives us stability and assurances,
and I have no doubt the tournament will grow and improve over that
period.
“The reason for the Challenge Tour’s visit to India is not only because
the climate here at the start of the year offers the sort of playing
conditions which aren’t available in Europe, but also because the event
will give young Indian golfers the opportunity to test themselves
against some of Europe’s brightest talent. For inspiration, the Indian
golfers competing at the Gujarat Kensville Challenge need only look at
what the likes of European Tour champions Andres Romero and Ricardo
Gonzalez have achieved since we first gave them the opportunity to play
on the Challenge Tour through our co-sanctioned events with the Tour de
las Americas. We started out with three South American events in the
2003 season and by 2008 we were up to five, so we are hopeful of growing
something similar in India in the future.
“Golf in India is becoming more and more popular, so we didn’t want to
miss the opportunity to assist with the game’s growth. Much of that is
down to the achievements of Jeev Milkha Singh, and it is an honour that
he has taken time out of his busy schedule to attend the launch of the
tournament. Our Members are very fortunate not only to be playing on a
course which bears the signature of India’s most famous golfers, but
also to be in Ahmedabad as the city celebrates its 600th anniversary. I
am sure they will enjoy the hospitality for which India is famous, and I
am very much looking forward to sampling it for myself in January.”
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