The country’s leading professional golfers will tee off for top honours in the Rs 1 crore prize money 8th CG Open at the refurbished Bombay Presidency Golf Club course, here, on Tuesday. The field will be led by Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha, the highest ranked player in the field as he currently lies second in the Rolex Ranking. Also in the fray will be leading pros such as Shankar Das (reigning Rolex Ranking champion), Mukesh Kumar, Udayan Mane, Shamim Khan, Om Prakash Chouhan, to name a few. The tournament concludes on Saturday, December 5, followed by the Pro-Am on Sunday.
Left to Right: Golfers Udayan Mane, Abhijit Singh Chadha and Anura Rohana with Mr. Laurent Demortier, CEO and Managing Director, CG, Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI and Mr. Rajen Gandhi, Captain, BPGC unveiling the CG Open 2015 trophy.
The former CG Open champions contending this year include Harendra Gupta, Mandeo Singh Pathania, Kunal Bhasin from Australia and Ashok Kumar. The prominent foreign players in the field besides the Mumbai-based Kunal Bhasin are, Sri Lankans N Thangaraja, Anura Rohana and K Prabagaran, besides Nepal’s Shivaram Shrestha and Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah. The two prominent Mumbai players in the field are Anil Bajrang Mane and Wilson Raj D’Mello.
This was announced by Avantha Group Company CG’s CEO & Managing Director, Mr. Laurent Demortier. Speaking on the tournament, he said, “CG Open has taken rapid strides in turning itself into an exclusive and landmark professional golf event in India that brings together some of the best golfing talent in the country. It has been a pleasure to be associated with this sport and see the tournament grow both in stature and the kind of players it attracts. I wish the players the very best and look forward to an exciting game of golf this year too.”
Chadha was confident of his chances going into this event, coming in on the back of two PGTI tour wins. “This is a short course and one has to keep the ball in play. A player has to come in with a gameplan and stick to it. I have always enjoyed playing on this course, having top ten finishes in the last three editions and I hope to go all the way this time,” said the 24-year-old, known for his long drives.
Maharashtra’s Udayan Mane was also hopeful of doing well at the C G Open in this first professional season, having won two PGTI titles in the last four weeks. Mane currently heads the 2015 PGTI Emerging Player of the Year race. I” definitely would like to carry my good form into this tournament. As its still early days for me as a pro, all my goals are short term and I like to take things on day at time. This is one of the most lucrative and prestigious tournament on the calendar and the field is very tough,” said Mane, who was India’s No. 1 amateur player in 2014.
Both these players and the rest of the field will have to contend with Sri Lankan Anura Rohana, among the prominent foreigners, who sunk 7 consecutive birdies in practice and Monday and is in great form. “I have had a great season so far, said Rohana.
For today’s sport: Golf 7.00 am onwards; CG Open at BPGC