Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Top golfers will be seen in action in the $500,000 at the DGC Open to be held from March 24-27 here at Delhi Golf Club.
The exciting new event with India and Asia’s best professionals will be one of the standout tournaments in the early part of the 2022 season on the Asian Tour
The tournament will also signal the return of Asian Tour to India after a gap of two and a half years. The last Asian Tour event staged in India was won by Korean teenager Joohyung Kim claim the trophy in November 2019. The last Asian Tour event held at the DGC was won by India’s Khalin Joshi in 2018.
It is the first time that the Delhi Golf Club will have its own international tournament, sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia..
One of the highlights of the week will be the presence of the nine-time Major winner, Gary Player, who has redesigned the Delhi Golf Club. Following the renovation in 2019, the highly rated Lodhi course is set to pose a different challenge with the re-done greens and re-shaped bunkers.
The Club is dedicating the first DGC Open in the memory of the late Siddharth Shriram, ex-President of DGC who had conceived this tournament as well as the relaying of the green complexes.
The DGC and the Asian Tour have signed a five-year agreement with the intent to make it a Million Dollar event with some of the world’s best golfers vying for honours.
The DGC Open presented by Mastercard will be the first international competition on the renovated course. “The re-design, while ensuring that the original character of the course has been left untouched, will make it even more engaging and challenging at the same time.” said DGC president Manjit Singh
“The DGC Open presented by Mastercard is a new tournament and, in many respects, represents a new start for everyone involved with golf in India,” said DGC Captain Major General Anil Dere, “It is an exciting opportunity for The Delhi Golf Club to help play a key role in the return of international tournament golf to India.
We feel it is extremely important that we set the wheels in motion to restore tournament golf in India and help the game we are all so passionate about,” he added.
The famous club will strictly adhere to all Indian government COVID-19 protocols to ensure a safe environment for players and staff.
“The addition of the DGC Open presented by Mastercard to our 2022 schedule is a massive boost for the Asian Tour and something we have been working very hard on behind the scenes to facilitate,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour.