Sandhu, Mane, Rashid, Ahlawat set to compete in Vishwa Samudra Open

New Delhi [India], December 9 : The Vishwa Samudra Open which will be held at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) from December 10 to December 13 was launched by former India cricket captain and PGTI president Kapil Dev on Monday.
The stellar field at the tournament will feature international winners SSP Chawrasia, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Rahil Gangjee, Gaurav Ghei, Rashid Khan, Khalin Joshi, Chikkarangappa S, Yuvraj Sandhu, as well as other leading Indian names such as Om Prakash Chouhan, Olympian Udayan Mane, 2024 PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat, Karandeep Kochhar and Manu Gandas, to name a few. The tournament carries a prize purse of Rs 2 crore.
The foreign challenge will be led by Czech Republic's Stepan Danek, Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain, Badal Hossain, Md Akbar Hossain, Md Jakiruzzaman Jakir, Sri Lankans N Thangaraja, K Prabagaran, Andorra's Kevin Esteve Rigaill, Nepal's Subash Tamang, Canada's Sukhraj Singh Gill, Japan's Makoto Iwasaki and Americans Dominic Piccirillo and Digraj Singh Gill.
Besides Gaurav Ghei, the host venue Delhi Golf Club will also be represented by professionals Sachin Baisoya, Harshjeet Singh Sethie, Manav Jaini, Arjun Singh, Naman Dawar, Karan Vasudeva, Saarthak Chhibber, Harsh Gangwar, Pawan Kumar and Rohit Baisoya.
Anil Yendluri, Managing Director, Vishwa Samudra Engineering, said, "Vishwa Samudra is thrilled to partner with the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) for the first time. The Vishwa Samudra Group up until now has hosted the best corporate golf event the country has seen and now, we are excited to venture into the space of professional sport. Our group has supported talented golfers in the past and this is the first time that we are associating with the PGTI. We hope this is the start of a very mutually beneficial association which grows in the years to come."
Kapil Dev, President, PGTI and Tournament Host, said, "I would like to thank the Vishwa Samudra Group for their huge contribution towards growing professional golf in India through the launch of the Vishwa Samudra Open, one of the biggest tournaments in India. This joint initiative of the Vishwa Samudra Group and the PGTI will go a long way in further strengthening the tour by creating more playing opportunities for the professionals and making a significant addition to the annual prize money on offer on the PGTI. I thank the Delhi Golf Cub for being one of the biggest supporters of Indian professional golf and working hard to provide us with perfect playing conditions for the event. With a top-class field contending for the title, we can look forward to a fascinating week of golfing action. I'm excited to host all the players during the week and wish them all the best. I look forward to seeing the spectators come out in large numbers, watch India's best professionals in action and enjoy themselves."
Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, "We thank the Vishwa Samudra Group for sharing PGTI's vision of creating more playing opportunities for Indian professionals as they come on board as title sponsors. We also thank our President Kapil Dev for his initiative in getting the event on track. The event gains further significance as it will be the last full-field event of the season thus providing the professionals a great opportunity to make an impact in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking. With a star-studded field vying for top honours in the pristine conditions at the Delhi Golf Club, a thrilling week of golfing action is in the offing."
Raj Khosla, President, Delhi Golf Club, said, "We at the Delhi Golf Club are honoured to have a PGTI event after a long gap. Our main objective is to promote golf and I think the Vishwa Samudra Open presented by Kapil Dev is a great platform to do so. The DGC has produced champions like Ali Sher, Gaurav Ghei, Shiv Kapur, Chiragh Kumar and so many others. We would like to continue this trend and keep producing more world-class professionals through the staging of events such as these. There is great excitement among the members as they look forward to witnessing top quality golf with the best Indian golfers in action. The members also eagerly await the opportunity to play the Pro-Am alongside the leading Indian professionals."
Vikram Seth, Captain, Delhi Golf Club, said, "I, as Captain of Delhi Golf Club, am very proud to announce that we are hosting the top professionals of India at the inaugural Vishwa Samudra Open which is presented by a legend Mr. Kapil Dev, who is our member as well. Our motto at the DGC is to promote the game of golf and support the professionals.
This tournament shows our commitment to this cause. Our course has gone through a major upgradation by Gary Player. My greens-keeping team has made sure that our course is in top condition for us to host this tournament with world-class standards. On behalf of the members of DGC, I welcome all the professionals and spectators who shall come and watch this golfing spectacle."