Golf: Louis Philippe Cup to start from July 31

The Louis Philippe Cup, a co-sanctioned professional golf tournament by the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) will start from July 31, it was announced on Wednesday.

The new event will be played at the picturesque Prestige Golf Shire Club here and will run till August 4.

The $75000 event would see the 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.

Some top names to look forward to at the Louis Philippe Cup 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 and Chikkarangappa, would also be seen in action at the Prestige Golf Shire 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.

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.

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 $72,083,000 as prize money in 2017.

--IANS

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