Delhi Golf Club to host BILT Open 2012

Bilt OpenNew Delhi: Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT), India’s largest paper manufacturer and the flagship company of the US$ 4 bn Avantha Group, and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), ‘the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India’, on Tuesday announced the schedule for the BILT Open 2012 at a press conference in Delhi.

The announcement was made by Yogesh Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Ballarpur International Graphic Paper Holdings B.V. (BIGPH) and Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI.  Key tournament competitors including Jyoti Randhawa, Chiragh Kumar (defending champion) and Mithun Perera were also present at the event.


Yogesh Agarwal, MD & CEO, Ballarpur International Graphic Paper Holdings B.V., said, “We warmly welcome the players to BILT Open 2012, one of the most exciting golf tournaments of the season.  With a prize purse of Rs. 1 crore and prominent players at Delhi’s premier golf course, we expect BILT Open to generate greater interest in professional golf, among the players, sponsors and viewers”

Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI said, “The BILT Open has witnessed a very high quality of golfing action since its inaugural edition in 2006. The 2012 edition will be no different as the elite field will feature the cream of Indian professional golf. We thank BILT for its strong support to Indian professional golf that has contributed towards the sustained growth of the sport in the country over the last six years.”

Defending champion Chirag Kumar was upbeat about his chances. "Played a practice round after a long time. The course is in great shape and I'm looking forward to the challenge," said the Delhi based golfer. 

Sri Lanka's Mithun Perera is also looking forward to the  tough challenge: "India is my second home and I really love to play here. DGC, with its tight fairways will definitely pose a few challenges this week. However, I'm striking the ball well and hope to be in contention this week, as the top two on the Rolex ranking qualify for the Barclays Singapore Open."  
The tournament worth a prize purse of Rs. 1 crore is scheduled from 10th – 13th October 2012 with the Pro-Am being played on 14th October. The event will be played at the esteemed Delhi Golf Club for the first time.

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