Indian golfers’ ranking go up after PGTI declared as open tournament

04/02/2019

The rankings of many Indian players have gone up since the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) has become an open tournament, starting 2019. The CEO of the PGTI echoed with the same and added that this would help Indians with respect to qualification in the Olympics and other major events.

In July last year, it was announced that the PGTI would receive world ranking points from 2019, as the tournament was going open. An open tour means that a player from any country could participate as the tour will not be restricted based on nationality. And Uttam Singh Mundy, the CEO of PGTI was delighted to see the huge jump in the rankings of various Indian players.

Rashid Khan, former Asian Games silver medallist has gone up by 269 places after he emerged victorious at the Chittagong Open played between, followed by a tied third finish at the Bengal Open played between and a tied tenth finish at the Indian Open.

Udayan Mane rose by 416 points after finishing first and fifth in the Players Championship and Golconda Masters, respectively. Whereas, S Chikkarangappa rose by 103 places, after finishing first and tenth in the Golconda Masters and Indian Open, respectively.

"Having world ranking points is a huge boost for us, as a result of the tour going open. A lot of players didn't know the significance, but in the last four-five tournaments the players have gone up leaps and bounds in their rankings," said the former India player.

At the moment, India only have three players in the top 200, the 22-year-old Shubhankar Sharma, the 30-year-old Gaganjeet Bhullar and the 31-year-old Anirban Lahiri, ranked at 126, 138 and 193, respectively. Ranking points are extremely significant, as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are nearing, and only those in the top 150 have a high chance of gaining direct entry into the quadrennial event. Not only that, but the top 100 players might stand a chance to directly qualify for the US Open Majors and the British Open.

However, as the Indian players are touring in different parts of the world, they miss out on some flagship PGTI events like the Pune Open, starting at Poona Club today, to be played until April 5. Previous edition’s champion, the 22-year-old Honey Baisoya, along with Rashid, Mane and Chikka will miss out on the tournament because they will be taking part in the Bangabandhu Cup, an Asian Tour Professional Tournament, scheduled between April 3 and April 6, at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka.

"Our tournament had been confirmed a long time ago, whereas the Dhaka event was plugged in three-four weeks ago," added the 55-year-old.

Digvijay Singh, a 13-time championship winner, was positive about India’s growth in the sport and also singled out Rashid Khan for his victorious campaign at the Chittagong Open.

"Ten years ago, the scores were in single digits. Now they are in double digits. Rashid Khan won the Chittagong Open (in Bangladesh, March 6-9) with 24-under (overall). That's unbelievable," said the 47-year-old veteran.

The Delhi-NCR Open Golf Championship 2019, scheduled between April 16 and April 19, is the next major tournament on the PGTI calendar.