Yogesh Agarwal who is a Key Member of the Leadership Team of the Avantha Group, speaks to Indian Sports News about Avantha Masters 2013, the competition, the change in venue, what the tournament has to offer for the amateur golfers and much more.
Excerpts:
Q. The tournament is in its fourth year, how do you rate the competition in the past three years and what are your expectations this year?
A. The field over the last three years has been very strong as the top professionals from India and Asia have participated at the event along with some big names from Europe. The competition has been intense with winners being decided on the very last hole year after year. With many more top golfers expected from Europe this year, the 2013 edition of the event promises to be more competitive than ever before.
Q. What is the prize money this year?
A. The prize money for the event is Euro 1.8 million. It’s currently the highest prize money golf tournament on Indian soil.
Q. What does the tournament have to offer for the amateur golfers?
A. The top amateurs from the Delhi NCR region including executives from the corporate world will get an opportunity to rub shoulders with professional golfers from around the world during the Pro-Am event. Professionals and amateurs play alongside each other in the same team in Pro-Am events, as a result amateurs receive a lot of valuable golfing tips from the professionals.
Q. This year the tournament will be played at a different venue, Jaypee Greens Greater Noida, what prompted the change and what are your expectations from this course?
A. We want to take the Avantha Masters to different venues across the country in order to cater to a wider audience and therefore moved the tournament to a new course. The Jaypee Greens Greater Noida is one of the premier championship courses in the country and is likely to produce a great contest.
Q. How was DLF Golf and Country Club to you as the host?
A. The DLF Golf & Country Club were outstanding hosts. The infrastructure and course were world-class. There was a lot of support from the club and the tournament drew a lot of spectators, especially on the last two days.
Q. What are your plans to bring more spectators to the game?
A. This is a game for Golf enthusiasts. Apart from communication through leading newspapers & magazines, we plan to undertake communication specifically pointed towards the golfing community.
Q. Recent times have seen a lot of sponsors and players investing in the sport, do you think golf can be the next big sport in this country?
A. Golf is already the fastest growing sport in the country. The Indian domestic tour, the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), has laid a strong foundation for the sport in the country with prize money events through the year. Added to this is the fact that our golfers are doing very well on the global stage and there are also a lot of golf courses mushrooming all over the country.
Q. Like in 2011, where SSP Chowrasia won the tournament, do you expect an Indian winner this year too?
A. There will definitely be a very strong Indian presence and we expect Indians to perform well on their home turf. Besides former champion SSP Chowrasia, the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Anirban Lahiri and Himmat Singh Rai would also be top contenders. All these golfers have proved their mettle at the international stage and are very fierce competitors when playing in India.
