Some of the top professional and amateur golfers will be seen in action at the Kensville Golf and Country Club over the next four days as the discipline makes a quiet debut in the National Games on Thursday.
Altogether, 71 players, including 38 men and 33 women, will try their best to ensure a podium finish as competitions will be held in individual and team events.
According to tournament director Ishwar Achanta, each of the 11 participating teams will have a professional and an amateur golfer.
“In 11 state teams, when you take both men and women, there will be 44 players. The rest, 37, will compete in the individual event. All those who will be participating in team events and who feature in the top 16 of the PGTI, WGAI AND IGU merit lists will also be part of the individual competition,” said Ishwar on Wednesday.
Even though some competitions, including a PGTI event at Panchkula, are taking place close to the National Games, well known professionals such as Karandeep Kochhar, Aman Raj, Ridhima Dilawari and Vani Kapoor and top-ranked amateur Avani Prashanth and No. 3 Kriti Chowhan will be part of the four-day event here.
Ishwar said this exposure would give the young golfers a feel of participating in a multi-sport event. “The National Games is for all. It’s the go-to event for every aspiring golfer.
“There are some challenges (as far as the course is concerned) but we are managing,” said Ishwar, who is also the Indian Golf Union’s treasurer and the Tamil Nadu association’s secretary.
