THE DIGEST : SNIPPETS
Club Golfers Rejoice

You no longer have to be a par breaker to play for your country. With its six handicap categories, the World Golfers Championship gives you the ultimate high-the opportunity to don your national colors.

Meant for club golfers, the annual tournament is played across the globe with the finals at a grand location. Into its 11th year, the world's largest golf tournament now comes to India, with Golf Digest India signing up as the presenting sponsor.

Here are some staggering stats for 2005: 26 participating countries with over 20,000 contestants. This number will finally be pruned down to about 300 golfers, who will compete in the finals at the 5 star Gloria Resort in Antalya, Turkey, from November 19 to 26. The resort is a member of the Great Hotels of the World chain. Besides the national TV networks, Golf Channel will also cover the event.

Swedish sports legend Sven Tumba founded the WGC in 1995 and the first three events were held at the PGA National Resort & Spa in West Palm Beach, Florida. Outside the U.S., the event has so far been conducted in the Dominican Republic and Thailand.

Tumba, of course, represented Sweden in ice hockey, soccer, water skiing and amateur and professional golf. Spanish maestro Seve Ballesteros and the 'King' Arnold Palmer are also associated with the WGC as Honorary Chairman and Patron, respectively.

The Indian national qualifying tournament will be played in golf clubs across the country in September in six handicap categories: 0-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20 and 21-24 and 25-30. The winner from each of these categories will become the national champion and represent the country in the world final as a team and individual. The qualification rounds for selecting the team of six representatives from India would be jointly held by Pash India Events & Holidays P. Ltd. and Golf Digest India.

There is going to be plenty of pampering in luxurious surroundings but on the golf course, it's going be serious work, with the finals being played over 72 holes. R&A and USGA amateur rules will apply.

Raghav Wahi Turns Pro At 16

Raghav Wahi, who turned 16 last month, has joined the pro ranks. The Jammu golfer finished ninth at the PGAI Qualifying School in Pune and now intends to play on the Indian Tour.

"Raghav is totally focused on his career and he was keen to turn pro. And I'm supportive of the decision," says Sanjay Wahi. In fact, Wahi Sr. is buying a flat in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of Delhi, so that Raghav is centrally located and can play golf on some quality golf courses when he is not on tour.

"Since Raghav is playing very steady golf, he teed it up in Pune. He will also play the Asian Tour Q-School next year," reveals the father. "This is going to be a good experience for him and I expect Raghav to be winning regularly on the Indian Tour within the next two years," he adds.

After finishing as number one in his age categories in India, Raghav is giving amateur golf a miss. "My aim in life was to play pro golf and I am confident of my game. The finish at the Q-School in tough conditions has given me a boost," says the teen. "At the end of the day you have to play your own game against the golf course. I hope it's going to be nice."

On the other side of the spectrum at Pune was Rohtas Singh, the veteran having to go back to school after an indifferent season. He took 31st place.

Matloob Ahmed Rana of Pakistan won the rain-shortened Q-School. After two days of play, only nine holes were possible on the third day and the fourth day was washed out. Rana, who had taken second place last year, finished with a total of 179 (45 holes), one shot better than seasoned pro Indrajit Bhalotia and Javed Inayat, also from Pakistan. Raghav totaled 184.

There were four other golfers from the neighboring country-including Faisal Qureshi-among the top 33, who are likely to get full playing privileges on the Tour.

A large number of Pakistani golfers had qualified for the Indian Tour last time as well but none of them played for reasons varying from lack of sponsorship to visa problems. B.G. Lalithakumara (17th) from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh's Md. Chand Mian (33rd), were other familiar names among the top finishers.

Indian Open at DGC

The Indian Open will be held at the Delhi Golf Club from October 27 to 30. A six-year contract has been signed by the Indian Golf Union and the Asian Tour, with the World Sports Group underwriting the event for the period.

Starting with $300,000, the prize money is expected to touch the $1 million mark by the sixth year. Now is a good time to take your golf game seriously!

At one point earlier in the year, with no sponsor at hand, the Indian Open looked doubtful. But then a number of event management and marketing companies expressed interest in what is one of Asia's most prestigious golf tournaments. Nimbus Sport and PMG were also said to have been in the fray till I.G.U. decided to go along with the Asian Tour and WSG.

In fact, IMG had the marketing rights to the Indian Open till 2006 but after title sponsors Shaw Wallace backed out of the tournament after three years, the event managers were unable to find a replacement.

Mardan Mamat of Singapore is the defending champion, though Indians have dominated the event over the past decade. Vijay Kumar was the last home golfer to lift the coveted trophy in 2002 at the Delhi Golf Club.

August 2005