INDIAN MASTERS RELATED STORIES EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters home page EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters Preview Round 1: Delhi specialist Randhawa grabs two shot lead Round 2: McGrane leads as local challenge falters Round 3: Jacquelin leads, but Els lurks four back Round 4: Chowrasia is the Indian Master Final Scores & Prize Money About the Delhi Golf Club course Els feels at home on Delhi's fairways Prayad begins Masters preparation in India Els and Atwal win curtain-raiser Indian golf is in the fast lane, says Jeev Old hands looking to end title drought Public to get free entry to Indian Masters Indian Masters to showcase local talent Atwal back to action in Indian Masters European & Asian Tours agree on Indian Masters Rapid growth makes golf India's second most favourite sport Full details of Delhi Golf Club ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Ben Leong claims maiden victory PGA: Jeev and Wi tie for ninth Prom targets Thai win in Brunei Shin Ji-yai takes Women's British Open Asian Tour starts 2nd half on a high Norman to play 2009 Johnnie Walker Mission Hills to host AP Summit GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Last chance to impress at Gleneagles New FedExCup points method causing surprises Vijay Singh looking forward to Deutsche Bank Players surprised by LPGA "English" rule Ryder Cup race ends at Gleneagles Tiger Woods won't swing a club till 2009

Els and Atwal win Indian Masters curtain-raiser

Ernie Els wasted no time in getting into the swing of things when the world number four made a winning start to his campaign in the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters on Tuesday.

Playing for the very first time in India, the South African superstar combined effectively with India's Arjun Atwal to take honours at the Delhi Golf Club.

The due carded one-over-pars on the back nine of the Lodhi course to take the honours. The team Jeev Milkha Singh and Mark O'Meara finished first runner-up beating the Darren Clarke-David Howell on a countback.

The Challenge Match, which formally teed off the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters week, provided the first opportunity to Indian fans to see the game’s biggest stars up close and personal, showing their skills in the ‘greensomes’ format on the back nine of the historical course.

"The players for the Challenge Match were selected on the basis of their rankings and, of course, for their star value on the tour," said Mohamed Buamaim, vice-chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAI, the promoters and organisers of the event.

"The intention behind organising this fun-filled match was to encourage more and more people to come and watch some of the great players in action in a relaxed atmosphere.

The match also provided the players a chance to get a feel of the course ahead of the main competition, starting from Thursday.

Prizes were presented by Tarun Malhotra of EMAAR-MGF in the company of Mohamed Buamaim.

golf in DUBAI, in cooperation with the three professional tours (European Tour, Asian Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India), have brought some of the best players in the game together to celebrate Indian golf for the inaugural EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters.

The birth of what is destined to become an Indian tradition, the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters boasts a $2.5 million prize fund, and will inject new excitement into the country’s golf scene when it arrives at the Delhi Golf Club.

February 5, 2008