Greater Noida, 29-08-2024

Indians present strong challenge at inaugural HSBC India Legends Championship

The nine Indians in the fray at the inaugural HSBC India Legends Championship are all set to present a strong challenge for the trophy.

The first Legends Tour event to be staged in India is being co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and will be staged at the magnificent Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida from August 30 to September 1. The tournament will be played over 54 holes.

The USD 500,000 event will witness six international winners from the home country take the field with 13-time international winner Jeev Milkha Singh leading the charge.

Jeev will be seen in a dual role this week as he also plays tournament host at the event which features a field of 64 professionals (over the age of 50) representing 17 different countries.

Jeev Milkha Singh, a regular on the Legends Tour since 2022 with one top-10 to his credit this year, said, “I’m humbled by the honour of playing host for the first Legends Tour event in India. As the tournament host I welcome everyone. I hope all the players have a great experience, go back with good memories and then come back again next year to play this event.

He added, “This tournament provides a great opportunity for senior Indian professionals over the age of 50 to come out and compete. I feel if the seniors stay fit and determined they can have a career probably up to the age of 70 with the kind of platform provided by the Legends Tour.

“It’s a much more relaxed atmosphere here on the Legends Tour as you’re not thinking about making cuts. Just play for three days, shoot your number and take the prize money. Jaypee Greens is an outstanding venue and I’ve always enjoyed playing here.”

Jyoti Randhawa, a winner of nine international titles, made a grand entry on the Legends Tour this year when he won the Qualifying School event. Since then, he has notched up three top-10s on the tour. Besides Jeev, Jyoti will be the other top contender for the title this week since he too has loads of international experience and has been a winner at the Jaypee Greens course in the past.

Jyoti said, “It’s an opportunity for me to be competitive as my passion for the game is still there. I feel it’s also a time for us seniors to give back to the game through such events. Youngsters can come up to us when we’re practicing as we now have the time to give them lessons and give them some direction in life drawing upon our experience of so many years.

“I have good memories of Jaypee Greens having won here multiple times. With the way the course is playing and taking the weather into account, I think the Indian players will have an advantage.”

The veteran Mukesh Kumar, a winner of over 125 titles including one international victory, is always a challenger in Indian conditions.

Mukesh said, “We senior Indian players are delighted to have this opportunity to play at a Legends Tour event. I’m 59 now and have lost some distance on the course but the fact that so many of my old friends from the Indian circuit are playing here inspires me to raise my game and perform well. It gets the competitive spirit going.”

Digvijay Singh is another Indian with an international victory to his credit participating this week. Digvijay, a winner of 13 professional titles, will look to shake off the rust as he returns to competitive golf after nearly 20 months.

Digvijay said, “The staging of this event paves the way and makes our resolve even stronger to start our own Senior Tour in India. I stopped playing on the Asian Tour nine years ago, so this week I really look forward to competing against some of my friends from those days such as Simon Griffiths, Keith Horne and James Kingston, to name a few.

“This will be my first event in a year and eight months and I’ve been nursing a bad left shoulder. I will try to play within myself and not expect too much, let’s see how it goes from there. The conditions, especially the rain, makes it tougher. The Jaypee Greens course will provide a true test of skills.”

Amandeep Johl, a winner of 11 professional titles and a regular on the Asian Tour for many years, will be the other notable Indian name in the field as he has a full card on the highly-competitive PGTI.

Amandeep said, “The growth of golf in India in recent decades has been phenomenal and India has also produced a huge number of top professionals since the late 1990s with the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal and Gaurav Ghei shining on the global stage. Therefore, it is befitting that the Legends Tour has finally come to India. It is also befitting that our own legend Jeev is hosting the event.

“This event also sets the stage for our own Indian Senior Tour that can give our legends like Mukesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Ali Sher, Feroz Ali Mollah and many others, a platform to compete.

“Camaraderie at our level is phenomenal, with so many old friends of mine like Keith Horne and James Kingston competing this week, it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’ve been playing decent golf and I feel having a card on the PGTI and competing with the youngsters gives one a competitive edge.”

Harmeet Kahlon, a winner of five professional titles including one international crown, will also look to roll back the clock this week.

Harmeet said, “It’s a fantastic opportunity. A big thanks to HSBC, the Legends Tour and PGTI for getting this event to India, and thanks to Jaypee Greens and Jeev for hosting it. As preparation for this week, I’ve practiced hard and visualized the Jaypee Greens course laying down my strategy for each hole because I’ve played here many times in the past. I look forward to executing my plans and coming up with a good performance.”

Former Indian Open champion Vijay Kumar, a winner of 70 professional titles, is the other international winner from India in this week’s field. Vishal Singh, a winner of 12 professional titles and Sanjay Kumar with eight professional wins to his name, complete the Indian line-up at the event.

Picture: Jeev Milkha Singh in action at the Pro-Am event of the HSBC India Legends Championship 2024