GURUGRAM: Leading Indian golfers, including Jyoti Randhawa and Gaganjeet Bhullar, will vie for honours at the inaugural Kapil Dev–Grant Thornton Invitational beginning on Tuesday.
As many as 126 professional golfers will compete in the Rs 1 crore tournament, which was announced by cricket legend and PGTI Board Member Kapil Dev and Grant Thornton Bharat last week.
It will be the first ever full-field PGTI event to be played at the Gary Player Course of the DLF Golf and Country Club.
"It's great to be back on the PGTI where I started my pro career. I'm also excited about returning to the magnificent DLF Golf & Country Club, a venue where I have won in the past," Bhullar, a winner on the Asian Tour this year, said.
"It'll be fun playing alongside Jyoti who I grew up watching and Yuvraj who has been in tremendous form of late."
The field also features some leading Indian names such as Himmat Rai (a winner on the Asian Tour), Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (4 PGTI Wins), Manu Gandas (4 PGTI Wins), Shamim Khan (15 PGTI Wins) and Abhijit Singh Chadha (3 PGTI Wins).
The prominent foreign names in the field are those of Sri Lankans Mithun Perera (7 PGTI Wins), Anura Rohana (6 PGTI Wins), N Thangaraja (3 PGTI Wins), Bangladeshi Jamal Hossain (3 PGTI Wins) and Australian Kunal Bhasin (3 PGTI Wins).
"The course is very demanding from tee to green. You have to be straight off the tees, be accurate with your second shots and need to negotiate the undulating greens," Randhawa, who has had multiple wins at the DLF Golf & Country Club, said.
"The unique format is something that both the professionals and amateurs are looking forward to."
After two days, the top 50 players will advance to the last two rounds.
The tournament will give amateur teams, consisting of golfers, celebrities and corporate leaders, a chance to partner with the pros in Rounds 3 and 4 to compete for separate team prizes.
