Golf in India was often given a tag of ‘an elite old man’s sport’. But with changing time, now playing golf has become a niche hobby for everyone including youngsters, elders and professionals. One cannot deny the lush green beauty of golf courses along with the perfect tea time with their loved ones. According to IGU, there are about 2 lakh golfers (including amateur and professionals) and 231 golf courses in India.
Today, golf courses are struggling to cope with the rush of walk-in (pay-and-play) golfers, and demands for new memberships. Even the Chandigarh Golf Club has seen a large numbers spike in past few years. Keeping in view the developing interest of people in golf, Chandigarh Open has been organized by Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) at Chandigarh Golf Club. The tournament will feature professionals from India as well as globally.
Overview of Chandigarh Open at Chandigarh Golf Club
Chandigarh Golf Club is all set to host Chandigarh Open from 3rd April to 6th April 2024. The tournament will witness top professional golfers from India as well as internationally. Also, 3 amateurs will be competing and playing along the professionals. Chandigarh Open is been organized by Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and the tournament carries a prize money of Rs 1 crore.
The Chandigarh Golf Club will feature top leading Indian golf professionals like Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaganjeet Bhullar, SSP Chawrasia, Om Prakash Chouhan, Manu Gandas, Rahil Gangjee, Rashid Khan, Veer Ahlawat, Abhinav Lohan, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Chikkarangappa, Karandeep Kochhar and others to compete in the inaugural Chandigarh Open 2024.
The top global professionals include, Sri Lankan’s- N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Bangladesh’s- Jamal Hossain and Badal Hossain, Andorra’s- Kevin Esteve Rigaill, America’s- Varun Chopra as well as rookies, alongside PGTI qualifying school winner- Matias Dominguez of Chile, Nepal’s- Subash Tamang, Italy’s- Michele Ortolani and Czechia’s- Stepan Danek.
Besides national and international players, Chandigarh based professionals- Ajeetesh Sandhu, Jairaj Singh Sandhu, Angad Cheema, Harendra Gupta, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Gurbaaz Mann, Amritinder Singh and Ravi Kumar will also feature in Chandigarh Open.
Furthermore, 3 amateurs are also participating in the tournament. They include- 14yr old Harjai Milkha Singh, the son of Indian professional golfer- Jeev Milkha Singh. The other 2 are- Ayaan Gupta and Ram Singh Maan from Chandigarh.
The major attraction of the tournament will be watching the father-son duo i.e.- Jeev Milkha Singh and Harjai Milkha Singh playing against and competing each other. Earlier the Harjai has won some tournaments at local level including US Kids Golf European Championship (U-13) event in June last year. The Chandigarh Open tournament will mark as his debut in the world of golf.
Upon this moment Jeev Milkha Singh told, “He (Harjai) was never forced to play golf; there was no pressure. Maybe he has watched me play since his childhood, and he got attracted to the sport. I had played the role of a caddie for him in age group events, but this (Chandigarh Open) stage will be different. I am emotional and excited,” Although for the first time, the Chandigarh Golf Club course would witness a father-son duo featuring in the same PGTI event. “This will be amazing. I hope he plays well and gives me tough competition,” added Jeev.
PGTI CEO Uttam Singh Mundi said, “We are pleased to announce the inaugural edition of the Nissan presents Chandigarh Open 2024 hosted by Chandigarh Golf Club. The golf-loving Chandigarh crowds can expect a visual spectacle.” “It promises to be a thrilling week with some of India’s golfing greats highlighting a strong field” he added.
Wrapping Thoughts
Tournaments like Chandigarh Open will encourage more people to build interest in golf sport. The people who are on the fence of whether to join a golf club or not, do not think any further and just go for it. Chandigarh people must visit the Golf Club and enjoy the beauty of lush greenery, peace and spend some quality time with their dear ones.
“Golf is a compromise between what your ego wants you to do, what experience tells you to do, and what your nerves let you do.” – Bruce Crampton
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