Mumbai: The business capital of Mumbai will witness some of the top amateurs from various countries battle it out for the prestigious 113th Tata Steel Amateur Golf Championship of India, the Crown Jewel event of the Tata Steel Amateur Golf Tour’s 2013 season. The high-status event, which enjoys the distinction of being the second oldest golf tournament in the world after the British Open, returns to Mumbai after a gap of seven years when the prestigious event tees off at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club from Tuesday.

While there were certain club championships which were being played in almost all the clubs at that time, the first truly national-level championship began in 1892 when the inaugural All-India Amateur Championship was staged as a stroke play tournament at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. JF Macniar was the first winner with a four-day score of 288. The All-India Match play continued to be a stroke play championship till the format was changed to matchplay in 1899 when GM Heriot defeated T Drimmic 5 and 4.

The 113th edition which begins from Dec 10 and concludes on Dec 15 will witness team and individual contests as the tournament opens with an international stroke-play competition on the first two days which will also act as qualifying cum seeding exercise. Apart from the capped players, close to 60 individual entries have been received for the qualifying rounds. The international team event which will see competition from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and hosts India will be followed by 32 qualifiers battling it out on match-play format over the next four days with the two finalists competing for the title over a 36-hole contest on Sunday. Apart from the crowning moments of the most coveted title, the National Open champion stands to gain invites to many international events.

Tata Steel who have taken on the mantle of the title sponsors have truly added steel in the growth and development program for the sport of golf. “We are happy to play host to the prestigious event a part of a very successful season of the Tata Steel Amateur Tour,” said Farzan Heerjee, Chief Corporate Relations, Tata Steel. “We are pleased that our efforts have resulted in producing and nurturing some exceptional talent and we hope to further grow the Tour in the coming seasons,” added Farzan who himself is a keen golfer.

On the competition front, the hosts boast of a strong contingent and clearly stand out as the hot favourites. Udayan mane who is fresh from the victory in Tata Steel Jharkhan Amateur where he won with a record score of 21-under par, Manu Gandas and Viraj Madappa who helped the Indian team annex the Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship couple of days ago and Karan Taunk make a strong combination.

Sri Lanka which has always fielded a strong team in the earlier editions will be the team to watch out for. The Himalayan country of Nepal consists of young turks in Bikash Bogati and Dinesh Prajapati a product of the Surya Nepal Junior golf development programme. Although they are short in international exposure, they have to heavily depend on sheer talent which they have amply shown on the domestic circuit just with a couple of years of induction into the programme.

Bhutan’s fortunes are led by Dechen Ugyen who had impressed Nick Faldo himself with his talent while he had played the Faldo Series.

The Bombay Presidency Golf Club - host to many editions of the Amateur Golf Championship of India has been a venue for many National and international golf tournaments. With the quality of the playing field and the test that the golf course has on offer, the stage is all set to witness many exciting moments at the Tata Steel Amateur Golf Championship of India.