Panchkula: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and the Panchkula Golf Club will jointly host the PGTI Players Championship presented by Panchkula Golf Club from February 3 – 6, 2015. The 2015 season opener offers a prize purse of Rs. 30 lakh. The tournament will be followed by the first leg of the Volvo World Golf Challenge India 2015 on February 7.
The PGTI Players Championship will feature top Indian professionals such as Himmat Singh Rai, Shamim Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Amardip Sinh Malik, Sanjay Kumar, Khalin Joshi and Shubhankar Sharma, to name a few. Leading the local challenge will be Chandigarh and Panchkula professionals Angad Cheema, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Sujjan Singh, Harendra Gupta, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Ranjit Singh, Harmeet Kahlon, Randhir Singh Ghotra, KPS Sekhon, Amritinder Singh, Feroz Singh Garewal and Ravinder Tavel, among others. N Thangaraja of Sri Lanka is the top foreign professional playing the event.
The Volvo World Golf Challenge India event will see amateurs of the region compete in two handicap categories. The VWGC India 2015 will consist of a total of eight legs. Winners in each handicap category in each qualifying event will qualify for the National Final 2015. Winners in each handicap category at the National Final will qualify to play the Volvo World Final in early 2016. The winner of the Volvo World Final will get the opportunity to participate in a European Tour event next year.
Mr. D S Dhesi, IAS, Chief Secretary, Haryana-cum-President, Panchkula Golf Club, said, “In recent years Panchkula Golf Club has emerged as one of the most popular golfing destignations in the state of Haryana in particular and northern region in general. It shall be our endeavor to further improve the Golf Club and conduct more professional, amateur and junior tournaments to promote the game of golf in the region. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of PGTI in promoting and highlighting Panchkula Golf Club in golfing circuit at National and International level. We wish to have more events organized by PGTI at Panchkula Golf Club. My best wishes to the participants and organizers.”
Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said, “We look forward to returning to the Panchkula Golf Club after a year and a half for the 2015 season-opener. The 2014 PGTI season witnessed some intense competition as the contest for the Rolex Player of the Year went down to the wire. An even more exciting season lies in prospect in 2015 as a number of promising youngsters join the professional ranks. The return of the Volvo World Golf Challenge India will also raise interest levels for the sport among the large number of amateurs in the country. We are confident that our partnership with the Panchkula Golf Club will continue to facilitate the growth of the sport in the state of Haryana.”sss
Brig. I. S. Punia (Retd.), General Manager, Panchkula Golf Club, said, “Panchkula Golf Club thanks PGTI for staging the PGTI Players Championship at Panchkula Golf Club. This is the first professional event which is being conducted after the renovation of the course. However, PGTI has already conducted three players championship and four tournaments titled as “Haryana Open Golf Championship” at Panckula Golf Club in the past. I am sure the newly renovated course will present a tough challenge and better playing conditions to the professionals. We look forward to hosting many more events in partnership with the PGTI in future and also extend our good wishes to the organizers and participants.”
The Panchkula Golf Club, situated on the Ambala-Panchkula-Kalka-Shimla Highway, and spread over an area of 135 acres is one of the premier championship courses in north India. It is situated at an alluring location on the banks of the river Ghaggar. The backdrop of the Shivalik Hills lends a picturesque view to the course.