Our Correspondent
DIGBOI: The 20th edition of Indian Oil Servo Masters Golf 2019 will commence from November 20 here at the Golf Links, Digboi which will be organized under the aegis of the professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and hosted by AOD Digboi.
The sudden jump in the prize price from 45 lakh in 2018 to 60 lakh in 2019 has simply added a great charm to the tourney. The AOD that has been bearing the purse so far has been constantly raising the cash prizes for four consecutive years.
Addressing the media here at the office of the Golf Links, Samapth Chari, the Chief Referee, and Technical Director PGTI said that the field would feature a total of 121 professionals. The top 50 players and ties will make the cut off after round two.
According to him, the field would feature top professionals such as defending and three-time champion Shamim Khan, six-time champion Mukesh Kumar, three-time champion Shankar Das as well as former winners Honey Baisoya, Harendra Gupta and Australia’s Kunal Bhagin. The other names to watch out for would be Chirag Kumar, Rookie Kshitij and Naveed Kaul who have won the PGTI this year.
Besides Australia’s Kunal Bhasin, the 2013 champion, the foreign challenge would be led by Sri Lankan Anura Rohana, N Thangaraja and Mithun Perera and Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah.
Amar Jyoti Saikia, the General Manager In-Charge of the AOD Marketing Department underlined the popularity of the Servo Brand and its various products both at the domestic and international platforms.
Kishore Dutta, the Dy General Manager Admin, and Welfare Department threw significant light on the status of the Golf course beside welcoming the golfers across the globe terming ‘the magnificent green layout’ as ‘ready to entertain the golfers’. Recalling the efforts of the AOD fraternity along with the nation with its single-use plastic drive, Dutta said that drinking water provisions for the players are made accordingly in true spirits.
“Servo Masters Golf played a pivotal role in promoting professional golf in the NorthEastern region over the years. We look forward to a fascinating week of golf as the leading Indian professionals tee it up at the serene Digboi Golf Links”, said Kishore Dutta, the Dy General Manager Admin & Welfare AOD Digboi to The Sentinel during a talk.
‘Deben Bhumiz, Biren Karmakar, Sagar Thapa, Sunil Mura, Jai Kishan Naidu and Dulal Kalowar who hail from Digboi area will be the local professionals taking part in the tourney’, informed Sabeena Chowdhery, the DGM AOD Corporate Communication.
According to her, Indian Oil has been striving seriously and promoting the cause of various sports items including cricket, football, chess, badminton, etc on various fronts for different age groups to encourage the deserving talents and escalate them to the professional international arena. AOD has been tirelessly driving under it’s CSR project to promote the local talents.
The prize purse of the tournament is 60 lakh. The prize money of the tournament includes 16.165 percent for the winner, 11.165 percent for the second while 6.265 and 5.065 percentages for the third and the fourth position holder respectively.
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