The tournament will be staged at SSP's home course, the revered Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC), from December 14-17, 2022 and offers a handsome prize purse of Rs. 1 crore. The field will feature 126 professionals.
The stellar field for the tournament this year will feature event host SSP Chawrasia along with other leading Indian names including Anirban Lahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Rashid Khan, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Viraj Madappa, Veer Ahlawat, Karandeep Kochhar, Chikkarangappa, Udayan Mane, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (TATA Steel PGTI Ranking Leader) and Manu Gandas (2nd on the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking), to name a few. Yuvraj and Manu have a record five wins each to their name this season.
The leading foreign names in the field are those of Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, N Thangaraja, Anura Rohana, as well as Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain, Badal Hossain, Md Akbar Hossain and Nepal's Sukra Bahadur Rai.
The other prominent names participating from the host city of Kolkata besides SSP Chawrasia and Viraj Madappa, are Sunit Chowrasia, Divyanshu Bajaj, Shankar Das, Mohammad Sanju, Arjun Puri and Raju Ali Mollah.
The legendary SSP Chawrasia is the second Indian professional golfer after Jeev Milkha Singh to have a PGTI event named in his honour. SSP has a long list of accomplishments including being one of only two Indian golfers to have won four DP World Tour titles. SSP has won six titles on the Asian Tour and is a two-time Indian Open champion. Chawrasia has the distinction of having represented India at the Rio Olympics 2016 and the World Cup of Golf 2016. He also represented Team Asia at the EurAsia Cup in 2016 and 2018. SSP, a winner of 17 professional titles, was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2017.
Tournament host SSP Chawrasia said, "I'm extremely excited about hosting the inaugural SSP Chawrasia Invitational presented by TAKE. It's a great honour to have an event on the PGTI named after me. I would like to thank Mr. Srinivasan HR, TAKE, PGTI and RCGC for supporting this event.
"The rich prize purse on offer, depth in the field and the excellent playing conditions provided by the host venue RCGC promise a week of top quality golfing action. I'm also looking forward to performing well at my home course, I wish the players all the best."
Mr. Srinivasan H R, Director, TAKE Solutions Limited and Joint President, PGTI, said, "I am privileged to partner Indian golfing great SSP Chawrasia in launching the SSP Chawrasia Invitational as recognition of his inspirational achievements at the global stage which have brought glory to the country.
"We seek to build this event into one of the biggest attractions on the PGTI calendar following the example of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational which has been a roaring success. I would like to wish the players all the best as we look forward to a highly competitive week with a strong field in attendance at the event."
Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, "The inaugural SSP Chawrasia Invitational presented by TAKE is an acknowledgement of SSP Chawrasia's path-breaking accomplishments on the international stage which have contributed immensely in raising the stature of Indian golf. His feats serve as an inspiration for young Indian golfers.
"We thank TAKE for partnering with PGTI in adding this new event on the PGTI calendar. We also thank the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC), SSP's home course, for supporting our initiative by hosting the event. A strong field, a handsome prize purse, immaculate playing conditions provided by the RCGC and the fierce competition at the business end of the season, make for an enthralling week of golf."
Mr. Rohan Ghosh, Captain, RCGC, said, "As SSP Chawrasia's home course, the RCGC is proud of his outstanding achievements and is honoured to host the inaugural SSP Chawrasia Invitational in partnership with PGTI and TAKE. The tournament is a fitting tribute to SSP who has won several laurels for the country at the international level.
"Besides SSP, the RCGC has produced many other Indian golfers of international repute such as Arjun Atwal, Rahil Gangjee, Feroz Ali Mollah, Viraj Madappa, Indrajit Bhalotia, Shankar Das and Ashok Malik, to name a few. We seek to build on this rich legacy by continuing to produce more champion golfers from RCGC with the staging of events such as the SSP Chawrasia Invitational. We have worked towards providing the perfect playing conditions and we're confident that the best golfers in the country will relish the experience of playing at the RCGC."
The world-renowned Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC), affectionately known as the "Royal", is steeped in history, as it is the oldest golf club outside of the British Isles, having been established in 1829. It is widely regarded as the founder of the game in the country and has staged some of the most prestigious tournaments on Indian soil, including the Indian Open and the All India Amateur Championship. The 7014-yard course favours long hitters and inaccurate shots are punished severely. The large number of water hazards makes this course a real challenge to master.
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