Jyoti Randhawa of India and Australia’’s Peter Senior are the latest players to be invited to the 2003 Volvo PGA Championship, which boasts a record prize fund of €3,500,000 at Wentworth Club from May 22-25.
Randhawa, 31, a four time winner on the Davidoff Tour, enjoyed a superb 2002 season in which he finished top of the Asian PGA Tour’’s Order of Merit with US$266,263 while 43 year old Senior’’s outstanding career contains won four titles on The European Tour International Schedule and a further 21 times internationally.
Randhawa will be making his debut in the Championship while Senior, fourth behind Bernhard Langer at Wentworth Club in 1995, will be making his 14th appearance over the West Course as the 156-strong field chase a record first prize of €583,330.
The €327,720 increase over the 2002 prize fund further enhances the profile of The European Tour’’s flagship event, which has grown steadily since the first year of the Volvo sponsorship in 1998 when Ian Woosnam of Wales won the first prize of €70,000 from a total prize fund of €420,000.
Already invited to the Volvo PGA Championship are England’’s Lee S James, winner of the European Challenge Tour Rankings in 2002; last year’’s European Tour Qualifying School winner, Per Nyman of Sweden and Korea’’s exciting young prospect, Kevin Na.
Additionally, the leading two players in the Volvo Order of Merit 2003 after this week’’s Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe, not otherwise exempt, will receive invitations. Currently, James Kingston of South Africa and Sweden’’s Peter Hedblom occupy 16th and 21st places respectively on the Volvo Order of Merit with Peter Lawrie of Ireland just one place and €6044 behind Hedblom.
