Digboi: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division) Digboi is all set to host the 22nd edition of the IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf tournament. This premier Golf Tournament will be held under the aegis of the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India (TATA Steel PGTI) from November 16 to 19 , at the scenic Digboi Golf Links.
The prize purse this year has been raised from Rs. 60 lakhs to Rs. 75 lakhs. The Pro-Am event will be held on 20th November.
The event will feature a field of 120 players including 118 professionals and two amateurs. The top 50 players and ties will make the cut after round two.
The IndianOil SERVO Masters has a special place in the history of Indian professional golf as it is the longest running tournament on the Indian domestic circuit and on the PGTI. The tournament is well-established as North-East India’s premier professional golf event in terms of the prize money on offer, the strong field it attracts every year, the top-class playing conditions and the high level of competition on display.
This year’s tournament will be a landmark one as it will be telecast Live for the first time ever. It will be broadcasted Live on PGTI’s Social Media platform thereby showcasing the tournament and the magnificent Digboi Golf Links to a wider audience across the globe. This new development will also help in further promoting the sport of golf in the North-Eastern region of the country.
The 22nd edition of the event will feature top professionals including Olympian Udayan Mane, Khalin Joshi, defending champion Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Manu Gandas, as well as former champions Shamim Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shankar Das, Harendra Gupta and National Games silver medalists Abhinav Lohan (individual event) and Trishul Chinnappa (team event) and bronze medalists Sunhit Bishnoi (individual event) and Sachin Baisoya (team event).
The foreign challenge would be led by Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, N Thangaraja, Anura Rohana and K Prabagaran, Bangladesh’s Md Akbar Hossain as well as Nepal’s Sukra Bahadur Rai.
The local challenge is being led by Digboi-based players including professionals Biren Karmakar, Deven Bhumij, Sunil Mura, Dulal Kalowar and Deepraj Chetia as well as amateurs Alok Barua and Naveen Kumar Kisalay.
Mr. K K Sarma, Chief General Manager & Refinery Head, IOCL (AOD) Digboi Refinery, said, “Promotion of sports in India has always been at the core of IndianOil’s philosophy. The support to Indian professional golf and the staging of the IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf is an integral part of our vision for the growth of sports in India. We welcome leading professionals from India and abroad to the historic and picturesque Digboi Golf Links for the longest-running tournament on the Indian professional circuit. We are extremely excited about the Live Telecast this year which will help in further popularizing the event as it will be seen by a much larger audience across the country.”
Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “We thank the Indian Oil Corporation for their unflinching support to Indian professional golf for more than two decades. We turn a new leaf this week with the first ever Live Telecast of the historic IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf. This new development is set to give a major boost to golf in the North-Eastern region as the pristine Digboi Golf Links will be showcased to viewers across the country. We wish the players all the best.”
The venue, the picturesque Digboi Golf Links, is a golfer’s delight. The course is a one of its kind in terms of ambience as it is situated among the lush tea estates and thick forest of eastern Assam. The historic Digboi Golf Links is bordered by the Dehing forest reserve on three sides and the magnificent Patkai range of mountains on the fourth. This par-72 course with a yardage of 6329 could also be termed as the best in the north-eastern part of the country due to its magnificent layout.
PGTI
