Nassau: The Asian Tour has confirmed that India will host its inaugural International Series event, which will be held at the DLF Golf & Country Club from January 30-February 2.
It will be the first of two high-profile events in the space of two months in Gurugram, with the course also staging the Hero Indian Open on the DP World Tour in the last week of March.
With several LIV Golf stars expected to take part, including US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, the International Series India will be the highest field-rated tournament to be held in India. The event is being held independently of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), which is aligned with the DP World Tour as part of a strategic alliance.
The $2 million event is expected to have a smaller field of 108 players, given the limited daylight time during the period.
“I think we will see an amazing impact on Indian golf because of the tournament. If all goes down well, and if Bryson is here, there are so many people who just want to get a glimpse of the man for the way he has transformed our sport,” said India’s Anirban Lahiri, who plays on the LIV Golf series.
“I remember watching Arjun (Atwal) win the Indian Open in 1999 at Royal Calcutta Golf Club. And for us kids at that time, not that exposed to world golf, it was like a dream come true. We all wanted to become Arjun back then. With the amount of social media following Bryson has, each of these kids wants to hit the driver like him and have a persona like him. It will be massive.”
The Asian Tour returns to India after almost two years, with their last tournament, the DGC Open Presented by MasterCard, taking place in March 2023.
Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner, said: “India has always been a massive market for us. We have a lot of Indian members within our membership. We’ve had countless tournaments there and it’s just wonderful to have India back on our schedule where it should be. Hopefully, this is one of many events that we have in India going forward.”
He said: “At the moment, the Indian competitors in the tournament will be Asian Tour members and invited players. There are a number of invites available for DLF, the Asian Tour and LIV Golf and we’re confident that we’re going to have a good representation of Indian players in the field.”
