By IANS
New Delhi : Jyoti Randhawa and Gaurav Ghei will lead a star-studded field of international and domestic professional golfers at the inaugural Rs.6.5 million DLF Masters golf tournament, starting here Thursday.
The Arnold Palmer designed lush green DLF Golf and Country Club here is one of the toughest layouts in India and will test the skills of some of the leading professional golfers of the country who have made a mark in India and abroad.
European tour regular Jyoti Randhawa has taken time off from his busy schedule to play the tournament, which promises a winner's purse of Rs.1.05 million.
"I am looking forward to the challenge of playing the DLF Masters at the strategic DLF Golf and Country Club as this is also my home course. The field this week has a lot of depth and I am sure a lot of exciting golf will be on the cards this week," said Randhawa.
The tournament will be played on the basis of the world-renowned AT&T Pebble-Beach Pro-Am and the Dunhill Links Championship that will see the top-50 professionals – who make the cut – play with amateur partners over the weekend.
The amateur field will comprise of the crème de la crème of the country's leading corporate golfers.
While the winning professional's score will be calculated according to the stroke play format, there will also be exciting team prizes on offer.
Playing his first tournament at home following his victory at the Pine Valley Beijing Open, Guarav Ghei will be another star player to watch.
"This is an interesting format and should make for great viewing, as we have seen in the west," said Ghei. "However, it is also a big tournament for the professionals so the competition will be intense," he added.
Besides Randhawa and Ghei, other top golfers like Rahil Gangjee, Ashok Kumar, S.S.P. Chowrasia, Harmeet Kahlon, Uttam Singh Mundy along with 2006 Asian Games silver medallists Gaganjeet Bhullar and Chiragh Kumar will be seen in action in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the foreign challenge will be spearheaded by Singapore's Lam Chih Bing, who recently qualified for the upcoming British Open in July and is one of only five Asians Tour players to have qualified for the year's most exciting major championships.
"I am looking forward to playing the DLF Masters. Some of the leading professional golfers in Asia hail from India and the depth of the field here ensures tough competition," said Bing.