Chowrasia, Chikka to lead Indian challenge at India Masters

Asian Tour regular SSP Chowrasia will spearhead India's challenge along with S Chikkarangappa Shubhankar Sharma and Khalin Joshi at the inaugural TAKE Solutions India Masters, commencing at Eagleton Golf Resort here from tomorrow.
The curtain raiser of the tournament, the Pro-Am event was won by Bangalore's Chikkarangappa and his team comprising Virender Razdan, Tarun Kunjru and Arjun Srivatsava today with nett score of 51.5.
Another Bangalore golfer R Murthy helped his team finish second which comprised of amateurs Dhananjay Naidu, Sunny Ahuja and L Darshan with the nett score of 51.6.
While the field of the Indian players looks strong, Niall Turner of Ireland and American Brett Munson, placed 3rd and 4th on the current Order of Merit of Asian Development Tour, will try their best to put up a great show at the USD 70,000 event, which is the first ADT event to be held in India.

The launch of the TAKE Solutions India Masters will raise the 2014 ADT schedule to an unprecedented 21 tournaments, which includes 12 tournaments in Malaysia, three in Chinese Taipei, three in the Philippines and two in Indonesia.
The latest addition on the ADT will also provide another opportunity for players, especially from India, to boost their ADT rankings. With only three events remaining this season, players will have everything to play for as the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit will earn the coveted Asian Tour cards for 2015.

Chowrasia, who sits at the 11th position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit following four top-five finishes on the premier Tour this season, is glad to throw his support behind the event, which he deemed as a positive development for golf in India.

"It's very good for Indian golf as it creates a new playing opportunity. I'm looking forward to competing with my best efforts and await an exciting conclusion at the end of the week," SSP Chowrasia said.
Khalin Joshi who won the PGTI Players Championship at Noida Golf Course last week, is also eager to step up his game at his first ADT event this week.
"Being the first ADT event in India, I have great expectations and I'm really looking forward to it. I believe that this is a step ahead for India as it gives Indian players a chance to play alongside other golfers from Asia which will in turn will help us learn and improve our game," said 22-year-old Joshi.