India is set to become the 37th destination visited by The European Tour next year when the inaugural Indian Masters is played at a venue to be announced from February 7-10, 2008.
Promoted and organised by ‘golf in DUBAI’, and sanctioned by The European Tour and the Indian Golf Union, the $2.5 million event will be the richest event held in India and represents a new era for professional golf in the country which has produced European Tour champions in Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal.
General JJ Singh, President of the Indian Golf Union, said: “It is an historic moment for Indian Golf with a European Tour event being held in India boasting of the richest prize money in the history of Indian golf.
“The event is a result of the growing status of the game of golf in India, augmented by the Indian performances across the golfing globe. Indian golf is surely to get a boost when the best talent from over seven continents will be on display and also will showcase the infrastructural development needed to host an event of this stature. I also take this opportunity to thank ‘golf in DUBAI’ for making this happen.”
Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Vice-Chairman and CEO of ‘golf in DUBAI’, said: "Golf is fast becoming a big-time sport and the game is growing, no question. And this European Tour event, I am sure, will have the appeal and the profile to further enliven the Indian golf scene.
"Being the promoters and organisers of world-class events like the Dubai Desert Classic and the Dubai Ladies Masters, we are quite certain that the Indian Masters will create an unprecedented buzz on the vibrant Indian golfing scene.
"The tournament is part of ‘golf in DUBAI’s ambitious drive to expose the Emirate's rapidly-growing golfing portfolio of world-class courses on the global stage," added Buamaim.
"It is also one of our objectives to organise tournaments, locally or internationally, on behalf of our partners to try and promote Dubai as one of the leading golf destinations in the world," he said. "And this tournament is a reflection on our team efforts to achieve this common goal."
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “The growth of the Indian economy has coincided with the emergence of golf as a major sport in the country. We are always keen to expand our tournament portfolio into new territories and we believe that the Indian Masters offers huge potential on that front.
“Thanks to Indian pioneers such as Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal – both popular Champions on The European Tour International Schedule – along with Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur, professional golf in India has taken a massive step forward over the past decade.
“We are delighted to extend our close relationship with ‘golf in DUBAI’, who we know well through their tremendous organisation of the Dubai Desert Classic” he added.
‘golf in DUBAI’ is backed by Dubal (Dubai Aluminium) as the main partner and National Bank of Dubai, Emaar, Jumeirah Hotels, Emirates airline, BMW, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Gulf News, Omega and CNN as partners in its drive to promote the city's golfing industry.
