Gary Player of South Africa, left, pictured with Shiv Kapur during a Mastercard Pro-am function ahead of The DGC Open 2022 presented by Mastercard at the Delhi Golf Club
Mastercard, a brand associated with some of the biggest golf tournaments in the world including The Open championship in Britain and the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour returns as the presenting sponsor of the 2nd Delhi GC Open ( DGC Open) with an elevated prize fund of US$ 750,000 for the event March 16-19. The purse is up by US$ 250,000 or 50% in its second season itself which should translate into a decent field of players.
The Delhi Golf Club has long been known as the cradle of Indian golf. From 1964 to 1996, the Indian Open was held every alternate year between DGC and the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. The club has played host to the 1982 Asian Games golf event famously won by the Indian team. DGC has also nurtured most of the big names of Indian golf and was the torch bearer with its junior golf programmes starting in 1988 which became the model for all other clubs around the country. The club has held the All India Amateur for men, ladies and juniors on numerous occasions as well as innumerable Northern India championships for men and women.
Ajeetesh Sandhu finished runner-up after losing to Nitithorn Thippong of Thailland
Ajeetesh Sandhu, who double bogeyed the penultimate hole to finish as runner-up is sadly expected to miss the event due to injury.
Tournament Field –
The field for the second edition of the DGC Open presented by Mastercard comprises 138 players, including an expected 84 foreign players from over 24 countries. Spectators can indeed compare the different playing styles and talent from across the world.
Although for the first time in Indian golf history, a professional event is being held on Indian soil without sanction of the domestic PGTI, Indian players will still be able to compete.
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The featured players are likely to be the defending champion Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand, veteran golfer Scott Hend of Australia, Asian Tour Order of Merit winner in 2016, long hitter Danthai Boonma, Gunn Chareonkul, Sado Kaewkanja, american Berry Henson, Suradit Yongcharoenchai all ranked third, fourth, sixth & seventh on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.
The foreign challenge is spearheaded by Thailand with a rich mix from a host of other countries as detailed below.
Thailand – 25
USA – 8
Korea – 8
Australia – 6
South Africa – 4
Malaysia, New Zealand, Morocco, Philippines, England, China – 3
Lebanon, Sweden – 2
Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Japan, Zimbabwe & Singapore – 1
Credits:-
Photo – Asian Tour