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In-house weekly prize money tourneys gear up local golfers for pro circuit
India’s professional circuit is resuming on November 4 from Chandigarh and Panchkula simultaneously
After almost seven-and-half months, the country’s professional golfing circuit will resume on November 4 from Chandigarh and Panchkula simultaneously. But apart from playing on their home turf, the local golfers will have an advantage of competing in the in-house weekly prize money events for the last four months.
With lockdown forcing the professional golfers to stay away from the competition since mid-March, the Chandigarh Golf Club started its own in-house weekly prize money tournament to give the professional golfers a feel of the competitive circuit. An entry fee and a small prize money for the top-five finishers added more thrill to the event.
“It (referring to an in-house weekly tournament) was like playing a round of proper competition. We faced the same amount of pressure we felt while playing in any pro event. No one can afford to take a shot lightly or for granted. Everyone played his best and winning has always been a pride,” says India’s one of the most successful professional golfers, Jeev Milkha Singh.
The club initiated a weekly tournament, every Wednesday, from mid-June. A one-day event, with 18 holes, has been played in a team scramble format. A professional golfer paired up with an amateur and both the team members tee off. After every shot, the best ball is chosen.
“The idea basically evolved out of lockdown to provide competition to professionals, who were absolutely lacking any competitive golf. Besides that, the advantage of amateur being paired up with professionals provides them the invaluable experience and opportunity to learn the sport from a close quarter with the best names in the country,” says Sandeep Singh Sandhu (Bobby), CGC president.
“Because of the format (team scramble), it became a very competitive field and there was a sense of competition in every shot. The scores for a round have even touched 10-12 under.”
Every in-house weekly event saw 50 to 60 entries with the names like Jeev Milkha Singh, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Harinder Gupta, Karandeep Kochhar, Adil Bedi, and Akshay Sharma playing regularly.
Even current golfing sensations Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar played a couple of Wednesday events before heading to take part in the European circuit.
With all the players chipping in ₹1,000 each as an entry fee, the money collected has been distributed among the top-five pairs. The winning pairs (top-five) cannot play with the same partners for the next three weeks.
“Though the prize money is only for a token, it increases the competition level and offers a fair amount of pressure. Everyone wants to win,” says Jeev. “Chandigarh golfers will be in advantage when the circuit starts on November 4. They will be ready to deal with the competition pressure. From my experience, I can say that even the world’s top golfers come under pressure and it has a bearing on their performance when they are playing in competition after a gap of six to seven months, unless one is used to the same type of feeling and playing in the same environment. Because as a human being, we need time to adapt,” he added.
“Since mid-March, we are out of competition and only a couple of Indian pros are eligible to play in the ongoing European circuit. So, for the larger community of pro golfers, these weekly pro events were the only option to stay tuned with competitive golf and sense the same environment as we do during the pro events,” says Akshay Sharma, who finished top-five twice in the weekly tournaments.
About the resumption of pro circuit
The Indian professional circuit is resuming with back-to-back tournaments in Panchkula and Chandigarh. The tour is opening with Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship presented by Panchkula Golf Club from November 4 to 7. The first two rounds will be played simultaneously at Panchkula and Chandigarh golf courses, while the third and fourth round will be played in Panchkula. The next four-round event presented by Chandigarh Golf Club will start from November 9. The venue format for the first two rounds remains the same, while the third and fourth round will be played in Chandigarh. Both the events carry prize money of ₹30 lakh each.
“Most of the things remain the same, except for reporting an hour before the tea off timing and submitting a report of Covid-19 test done not before 72 hours of the practice round (November 2). Only the golfers with negative reports will be allowed to participate,” says Akshay, whose negative report makes him eligible to play in both the tournaments.
