New Delhi: Tata Steel will enhance its support to golf in the country through a three-year deal as the umbrella sponsor of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), Tata Steel Vice President for Safety, Health & Sustainability,Mr. Sanjiv Paul announced here today.
“For more than a decade and a half, Tata Steel has hosted a tournament for the Indian pros at the Golmuri Golf Course in Jamshedpur. We decided it was time to extend our support to professional golf in the country as the lead partners for the entire tour,” Mr. Paul said at a media conference to announce the association with PGTI.
“Tata Steel has a long and enduring commitment to Indian sport. From football to archery, from athletics to boxing, from hockey to chess, we have been in the forefront of nurturing and supporting sporting talent,” he said. “The association with the professionally-run PGTI is a natural outcome of our shared goal of promoting competition at the highest level among Indian players.”
“We are delighted to welcome Tata Steel, one of Indian sport’s earliest and biggest benefactors, as our umbrella sponsor,” said PGTI Chief Executive Officer Uttam Singh Mundy. “Both the main and feeder tours – will benefit from PGTI’s association with Tata Steel.”
PGTI’s calendar 2019 will include between 18 and 20 tournaments across the country. In just over 12 years of its existence, more than 325 players have won prize money, with 38 players earning in excess of Rs 1 crore each. As many as 52 players have won at least one of the 220 tournaments, Mhow’s Mukesh Kumar topping the chart with 19 victories.
Tata Steel’s century-old association with sports dates back to Sir Dorabji Tata financing four athletes and two wrestlers for the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Tata Steel has created infrastructure for every sports discipline, including a 9-hole and an 18-hole golf courses which have played host to a number of tournaments.
PGTI’s alignment with the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system opens the doors for more Indian players to make an impact on the world stage and also for the world to recognise the kind of talent that we have in India.
The introduction of world ranking points will also help in improving the fields at PGTI events as Indian players who are Asian Tour regulars will have that extra incentive and motivation of playing on their home tour.
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