Fourth Asian Tour event in India SAILs into view

Indian golf, currently in the midst of a major growth phase, has received another huge boost with the launch of the inaugural SAIL Open Golf Championship 2008 at Jaypee Greens, Noida next month.

Steel Authority of India (SAIL), India's largest integrated steel producer, will make its foray into international golf with the title sponsorship of the SAIL Open at Jaypee Greens from February 20-23.

The inaugural US$400,000 tournament will be sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and has attracted the country’s leading stars including Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa, all former Asian Tour number ones.

A Pro-Am event will be held on Sunday, February 24 where leaders of Indian industry and the government will play alongside the top professionals.

Other top names who have confirmed their participation include Gaurav Ghei of India, Thai stars Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng and Singapore’s Mardan Mamat.

The SAIL Open will raise the number of Asian Tour tournaments in India to four this season, placing it second behind China which presently has five tournaments on the 2008 Asian Tour Schedule.

The venue, Jaypee Greens is one of the finest in India. The SAIL Open will be yet another opportunity for Jaypee Greens to showcase its world-class facilities and growing reputation as one of the finest courses in South Asia.

"As one of the first world-class designer courses in North India, Jaypee Greens has a special place in Indian golf. We are proud to host the top stars of Asia and India and we hope the event will help our existing stars and upcoming talent to compete with the best in the continent," said Mrs. Rita Dixit, Executive President, Jaypee Greens.

Ajai Gupta, Tour Commissioner of PGTI, added: "Indian golf has finally come of age. The prize money in Indian golf, as also Asian golf, is now commensurate with the quality that we have. I am sure the emergence of the SAIL Open at Jaypee Greens as a new event on Indian soil and on the Asian Tour will further enhance India's contribution to the promotion of the sport in the continent."

Lending his support to the tournament is the legendary Kapil Dev, India’s former cricket captain, who is now devoted to golf. An avid golfer, Dev is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Tour.

"After playing cricket for a better part of my life, now I am involved with golf, too. I feel this is one more sport where Indians are capable of achieving world-class standards. Our boys are already playing some of the biggest events in the world and it is only a matter of time before they bring more trophies. Jeev Milkha, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa have already been doing it and we can look forward to more such successes and I hope the SAIL Open can help in that," said Dev.

SAIL is a well known and established supporter of sportsmen and sporting events in India, and is actively involved in promoting various sports, including hockey, football, tennis, cricket and athletics. SAIL has set up sports academies for hockey, athletics and football at its major plant locations. These academies scan the peripheral areas of the steel plants as well as different regions of the country and select suitable young talents for grooming to higher levels of competence.

January 29, 2008

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