Asian Tour events to be held in India

NEW DELHI: On the heels of golf courses reopening across the country, comes another piece of good news. In a first for Indian professional golf, a bounty of $2.45m awaits players as three back-to-back Asian Tour events will unfold in October and November across Delhi and Gurugram. Billed the “India swing”, the tournaments will bring much-needed respite for pros after prolonged lockdown.

The $400,000 Panasonic Open at the Classic Golf and Country Club from Oct 15-18 will be followed by a new event, DGC Open with a tentative prize money of $300,000, at the Delhi Golf Club and the flagship $1.75 million (the purse on offer last year) Hero Indian Open, joint sanctioned by the European Tour, is slated at the DLF Golf and Country Club from October 29-November 1. Scheduled in March since it graduated to the European Tour in 2015, the national Open was postponed this season on account of the pandemic. The dates are yet to reflect on the Tour’s calendar but will be announced as soon as technicalities are firmed up. The “India swing” will be on the lines of new six-week UK swing in July-August announced by the European Tour in its revised schedule.