The Professional Golfers selected to play for Puravankara Bangalore will depend on their year-end PGTI Rankings and the choice of the sponsors. As per the current rankings fans can expect 2010 Panasonic Open winner Anirban Lahiri, youngster Abhishek Jha and seasoned golfer R. Murthy to be teeing off for Team Puravankara Bangalore.
Anirban Lahiri who ended 2010 ranked No.3 continued his good form in 2011 and won two of the six tournaments he participated in to retain his position at No.3 in the current rankings, possibly making him the only sure shot on the Puravankara Bangalore Team amongst the pros. Bangalore boy, 23-year-old Abhishek Jha competing in 16 tournaments this year, notching up 4 top ten finishes is ranked within the top 30 at No. 27 and he will perhaps have a place in the team. But experienced pro R. Murthy, who has had 3 top ten finishes in the 15 tournaments he has participated, and now ranked at no. 31 of the PGTI ranking may just shuffle his way in to either accompany or replace Young Jha.
Not too far behind on the PGTI rankings are R Srinivas, currently ranked 49 in the Rolex PGTI rankings, and M. Dharma currently at 54, making them strong contenders to earn themselves a berth in the Puravankara Bangalore team. However, this list could change.
Veteran golfer B.K Satish booked his berth in the Puravankara Bangalore amateur team with an upset win over youngster S. Chikkarangappa in the Eagleton Golf Resort qualifiers held in November. Playing off a Handicap of 0, Chikka lost out on a berth to B.K. Sathish on a technicality as the latter has a handicap of 12. Speculation is rife as to who else will make it to the amatuer team and play for the city alongside India's top pros for the Louis Philippe Pro-Am Title on the first two days of the tournament.
The next club qualifiers are scheduled to be held at Bangalore Golf Club on the 7th of January, 2012 where 175 golfers are expected to participate. The last club qualifier in Bangalore will be held at the Karnataka Golf Association course in mid- January where 18-year-old Khalin Joshi, one of India's top amateur golfers, is the favourite to qualify from a field of roughly 175 golfers.
Slated to begin on the 5th of March 2012, Louis Philippe Cup will see 3-member teams of amateur and professional golfers from Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkota, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Delhi, Gurgaon and Chandigarh battle it out for the winners' purse. Scheduled to be held at one of South Asia's best golf courses, the Karnataka Golf Association, the Louis Philippe Cup is the richest domestic event on the PGTI calendar. Puravankara will make an official announcement regarding the Puravankara Bangalore team in January, putting to rest all the speculations.
