Bengaluru, 10-02-2020

Shubhankar Sharma to defend his title at TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship 2020 Presented by Eagleton – The Golf Resort beginning on February 11

Indian star Shubhankar returns to play on the TATA Steel PGTI after a year; Other prominent names in the field include Chikkarangappa, Khalin Joshi, Viraj Madappa, Aman Raj and Udayan Mane

The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) will be staging the TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship 2020 Presented by Eagleton – The Golf Resort, its second event of the 2020 season, at the magnificent Eagleton – The Golf Resort, situated close to Bengaluru, from February 11 – 14. The tournament carries a prize purse of Rs. 30 lakh.

Indian star and European Tour regular Shubhankar Sharma will be the star attraction at the tournament. Shubhankar, a two-time winner on the European Tour, the 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion and the second-highest ranked Indian in the world at 264, returns to play on the PGTI after a year. Shubhankar is the defending champion at the event as he had won the previous PGTI Players Championship Presented by Eagleton – The Golf Resort held in February 2016.

The other leading Indian names in the field this week are those of Asian Tour regulars Chikkarangappa, Khalin Joshi, Viraj Madappa and Aman Raj. Udayan Mane, who jumped from 417 to a career-best 303 in the world rankings as a result of his second back-to-back title on the PGTI in Hyderabad last week, is also part of the field.

Shubhankar said, “I’m extremely happy to be back home and playing alongside some of my friends. I’m excited about returning to one of my favourite courses Eagleton. I have good memories of my win at this venue back in 2016 when I shot a 24-under total.

“I had three weeks off so I thought competing this week would give me good practice for the European Tour events ahead. I’ve recently been working on a lot of things with my coach and playing a tournament is the best way to put those changes into practice and test yourself. There’s also no better place to find my form than my home tour.

“It was an up and down season for me last year in Europe but I managed to find some form towards the end with a couple of top-10s. The experience gained over the last one year has been invaluable and has made me a better player.

“The world ranking points on offer on the PGTI was an added incentive for me to play this event. As the race for spots at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics enters its final stretch, every world ranking point counts. So, a good finish here would really help in boosting my Olympic hopes.”  

Former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey will be playing his second event as a professional at Eagleton this week. Tirkey, a three-time Olympian and 1998 Asian Games gold medalist, had last month played the PGTI Qualifying School 2020 in Ahmedabad.

The PGTI returns to Eagleton – The Golf Resort after a gap of four years. Eagleton - The Golf Resort, situated on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, is home to a USPGA standard course. This picturesque course is spread out over 170 acres and has undulating fairways and huge greens with an excellent drainage system. Over 40,000 trees, lush turf and sophisticated fertilization, irrigation and waste water management contribute to a natural and pleasing biosphere.