Masters Golf to kick off in Digboi today; Kapil Dev assures his participation in next season

Digboi: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division) Digboi is all set to host the 24th edition of the IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf tournament here at Digboi Golf Course from Wednesday morning. The premier Golf Tournament is being held under the aegis of the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India (TATA Steel PGTI) from November 20-23 at the Digboi Golf Links. Addressing the media on Tuesday evening the oranisers said that the prize purse for the event is more than Rs 80 lakh. The Pro-Am event will be held on November 24.

The event will feature a field of 114 players including 111 professionals and three amateurs. The top 50 players and ties will make the cut after round two.

'The IndianOil SERVO Masters has a special place in the history of Indian professional golf as it is the longest running tournament on the Indian domestic circuit and on the PGTI. The tournament is well-established as North-East India’s premier professional golf event in terms of the prize money on offer, the strong field it attracts every year, the top-class playing conditions and the high level of competition on display', said the PGTI officials.

The event will also feature top Indian professionals including Olympian Udayan Mane, Angad Cheema, Sachin Baisoya, Shaurya Bhattacharya, Dhruv Sheoran and former champions Shankar Das, Shamim Khan, Honey Baisoya and Harendra Gupta, to name a few.

The prominent foreign professionals in the field are Japan’s Makoto Iwasaki, Czech Republic’s Stepan Danek, Americans Dominic Piccirillo and Digraj Singh Gill, Canada’s Sukhraj Singh Gill, Sri Lankans N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain, Badal Hossain, Md Akbar Hossain and Md Jakiruzzaman Jakir.

The local challenge is being led by Digboi-based players including professionals Biren Karmakar, Deven Bhumij, Dulal Kalowar, Deepraj Chetia, Arun Gowala and Sagar Thapa as well as amateurs Alok Barua, Devin Singh and Himanshu Nagar. Indian cricketer and Hariya hurricane Kapil Dev, the president of the PGTI, also wished the tourney a great success and lauded the continued support of AOD in promote golfing in the region. 'I would definitely join the event next year, assured  Dev during his media address through zoom interaction.

Lt. Col. Ajay Kaila (Retd.), ED & RH, Digboi Refinery, said, 'We are delighted to have the players here today at one of the finest golf courses in the country. We promise you great days of golf ahead with 18 holes of serious fun and friendly competition'. He also handed over the registration kits to four local golfers to promote the local interest.

Meanwhile, Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “We thank the Indian Oil Corporation for their continued support to Indian professional golf for over two decades. The gracious hospitality of IndianOil has led to the event being one of the most eagerly-awaited ones on the PGTI schedule. This year’s tournament promises to be an exciting affair with a strong field competing and looking to make gains in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking race as the IndianOil Servo Masters will be the penultimate full-field event of the season.”

It is noteworthy that the venue, the picturesque Digboi Golf Links, is a golfer’s delight. The course is a one of its kind in terms of ambience as it is situated among the lush tea estates and thick forest of eastern Assam. The historic Digboi Golf Links is bordered by the Dehing forest reserve on three sides and the magnificent Patkai range of mountains on the fourth. This par-72 course with a yardage of 6329 could also be termed as the best in the north-eastern part of the country due to its magnificent layout.

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