Indian Masters standoff ends

The 55 Asian Tour players will include a minimum of 25 Indian players as the event brings the European, Asian and the PGTI together.

The impasse over berth-sharing is finally over and next year's Indian Masters, first European Tour event in the country, would have a strong local presence when the $ 2.5 million event tees off at the Delhi Golf Course on February 7.

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The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and 'golf in DUBAI' - promoters and organisers of the event - on Sunday buried the hatchet and decided that a minimum of 25 spots will be allocated for Indian players in the 120-strong field.

Of the 120 players, eight spots have been reserved for sponsors, two for amateurs and the remaining 110 places have been divided equally between the European Tour and Asian Tour players - 55 players for each tour.

The 55 Asian Tour players will include a minimum of 25 Indian players as the event brings the European Tour, the Asian Tour and the PGTI together in this tri-sanctioned event.

Mohammed Juma Buamaim, CEO of golf in DUBAI and Gautam Thapar, president of PGTI, jointly addressed a media conference in Dubai and announced the end of the deadlock.

"Both PGTI and golf in DUBAI have objectives that are parallel to each other. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before we collaborated in a positive way and moved forward collectively," Thapar said.