Louis Philippe Cup to tee-off in Bengaluru from July 31

Bengaluru, July 18: The Louis Philippe Cup will be embarking upon a new journey, with the Louis Philippe Cup 2018 to debut as a co-sanctioned professional golf tournament by the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). The new event will be played at the picturesque Prestige Golfshire Club from July 31st – August 4th.

The USD 75000 event would see participation of approximately 130 golfers that would include the top 60 ranked golfers from the Indian pro circuit as well as around 50 golfers representing some 15 nationalities from the ADT who would be vying for the winner’s cheque worth USD 13, 125 (INR 9,00,000 approx).

Some top names to look forward to at the Louis Philippe Cup 2018 would include the likes of current PGTI Order of Merit (OOM) leader Honey Baisoya of Delhi and second ranked Sri Lankan R N Thangaraja. Other leading Indians and current Asian Tour regulars like Udayan Mane, Shamim Khan, Rashid Khan & Chikkarangappa, would also be seen in action at the Prestige Golfshire Club.

Some prominent foreign ADT golfers who are expected to be participating in the Louis Philippe Cup 2018, include current rankings leader Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand and Johnson Poh of Singapore, who is ranked second on the ADT this season.

The last five editions of the Louis Philippe Cup have been staged as a special event on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) restricted to only 24 players but in 2018 it will for the first time be played as a full field co-sanctioned event with international flavor enabling the prize money to count towards the season end PGTI and ADT rankings as well as earn the top players Official World Ranking Points for the first time. The addition of the Louis Philippe Cup will raise the total number of tournaments to 21 on the 2018 ADT schedule, offering more than US$1.3 million in total prize money on the tour this season.

Asian Tour Chief Operating Officer Cho Min Thant, hailed the addition of the Louis Philippe Cup onto the schedule, praising the strong support from PGTI and Louis Philippe which according to him, would go a long way in further developing the game in the country and across the region.

“The Asian Development Tour is looking forward to the acceptance of Louis Philippe Cup onto their schedule. The PGTI has always been a strong supporter of the Asian Tour and the ADT,” said Cho Min Thant, CEO, Asian Tour.

Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO of PGTI, also expressed his delight, saying: “The PGTI is very happy to work with the ADT in improving & providing the playing opportunities for the striving golfers within the country and across the region.

“Golf in India has been on a rapid rise in recent years, with the likes of Shubhankar Sharma, Anirban Lahiri, Rahil Gangjee, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Shiv Kapur and S.S.P. Chawrasia making waves on the world stage. We hope to inspire other young talent to follow in their footsteps through events such as these.”

The leading five players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the main Asian Tour in 2019 which boasted 30 events with a total of USD 72,083,000 prize money in 2017.