Kolkata: Golf’s back at Tollygunge Club, Kolkata this week, with the second edition of the Coal India Open getting under way on August 11 and running through to August 14. Coal India Limited and the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India (DP World PGTI) are jointly running the show, and there’s a prize purse of INR 1 crore up for grabs.
Who’s backing the tournament
Coal India Limited, the state-run mining giant and the world’s biggest coal producer, is the title sponsor. DP World, the Tour’s umbrella partner, is on board too, alongside Axis Bank, Amul, Amrutanjan Enerlyte, Air India Maharaja Club and Kalyani as Tour Partners.
A packed field of 132
There are 132 players teeing it up this week, 131 professionals and one amateur. It’s a strong domestic line-up, headlined by Order of Merit leader Saptak Talwar, along with Veer Ahlawat, Om Prakash Chouhan, Manu Gandas, Khalin Joshi, Shaurya Bhattacharya and last year’s champion, Angad Cheema.
International names to watch
The overseas contingent is fairly wide-ranging too. Sri Lanka has sent N Thangaraja and Mithun Perera, while Thailand’s Tanapat Pichaikool and Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain and Badal Hossain are also in the mix. Nepal is represented by Sukra Bahadur Rai and Subash Tamang, the Czech Republic by Stepan Danek, and the US by Dominic Piccirillo and Koichiro Sato. Japan’s Koichiro Ishika and Taiga Tanaka, plus Uganda’s Joshua Seale, round out the list of notable entries.
Local heroes get their chance
With the tournament landing in Kolkata, there’s plenty of home support to cheer on. Shankar Das, a former Order of Merit champion, leads the charge, joined by Rahil Gangjee, Viraj Madappa, Mohammad Sanju, Divyanshu Bajaj and this year’s NexGen Order of Merit champion, Sunit Chowrasia. Feroz Ali Mollah, Indrajit Bhalotia and Karan Verma are also flying the flag for the host city.
What the organisers are saying
Coal India chairman B. Sairam said the company was pleased to back the tournament for a second year running, pointing to the strong foundation laid by last year’s event and the appeal of hosting this edition at the “iconic” Tollygunge Club. He added that Coal India sees sport as a way to inspire talent and bring people together, and that the company is proud to support the growth of professional golf in the country.
DP World PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl echoed that sentiment, thanking Coal India for its continued commitment to the sport and for giving players a strong competitive platform at a well-regarded venue. He said the tournament should build on the success of its first edition and put Indian professional golf on display in a city known for its love of sport.
The inaugural Coal India Open was held in Ahmedabad last year.