Karandeep to feature in ICC RCGC Open C’ship

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 4

Chandigarh lad Karandeep Kochhar will feature in the ICC RCGC Open Golf Championship, part of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) circuit, at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) from December 11.

The inaugural edition of the Rs 40 lakh event will witness the return of PGTI to the revered turf of RCGC after two years. The tournament will feature some of the top Indian professionals, including promising rookies Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Priyanshu Singh, both winners on the PGTI this year, and youngsters Udayan Mane and Kochhar. The experienced Chiragh Kumar, Shamim Khan and Mukesh Kumar would also be in the field.

The international challenge will be led by the Sri Lankan quartet of Anura Rohana, Mithun Perera, N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Bangladesh’s Mohd  Zamal Hossain Mollah and Australian Kunal Bhasin. Kolkata-based professionals such as former PGTI Order of Merit champion Shankar Das, former Indian Open champion Feroz Ali Mollah and youngster Sunit Chowrasia will also feature in the field.

The tournament has a unique format which will ensure a greater participation of amateurs as they will play alongside the professionals on the Pro-Am day on December 11 as well as in the last two rounds of the main event on December 14 and 15. Alongside this tournament, a corporate strategic think-tank meet, titled ‘India Tomorrow’, Decoding the Future of Business', will also be organised. 

The world-renowned RCGC is widely regarded as the founder of the game in the country and has staged some of the most prestigious tournaments on Indian soil, including the Indian Open and the All India Amateur Championship. The 7,014-yard course favours long hitters and inaccurate shots are punished severely. The large number of water hazards makes this course a real challenge to master.