The qualifiers were held across three golf courses in Bangalore - Eagleton, Karnataka Golf Association and Bangalore Golf Course where Saif Mekhri, Avinash Deoskar and K C Aiyappa respectively secured their place in Puravankara Bangalore Amateur Team for the Louis Philippe Cup.
The trio will now represent the city in the battle for the prestigious Louis Philippe Cup Pro-Am trophy. In a unique and competitive format for all participants, the combined 36 hole scores of the three member pro and three member amateur teams will determine the winners of the Pro-Am Title, to be held on the first two days of the tournament. However, the scores of the three member pro team will determine which four pro city teams progress to the semi-finals and then the finals of the Louis Philippe Cup which will be held between the 11th and 16th of February 2013 at the Greg Norman designed Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida.
With the amateurs set to compete alongside some of the best golfers from India, the Louis Philippe Cup is opening up avenues for golf enthusiasts to play on the same platform as the seasoned pros and engage more deeply with the sport that they love. This would be a great opportunity for them to interact with and learn from the top golfers. The Puravankara Bangalore amateur team will have a tall order to live up to, as the team finished second in the battle for the Louis Philippe Cup Pro-Am trophy in the inaugural edition. This year, without the home-city advantage, it would be interesting to see how the team copes with the conditions in Noida.
The second edition of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) sanctioned Louis Philippe Cup will see 9 city teams comprising of the top 18 ranked golfers on the final 2012 PGTI Rankings display their golfing prowess. With renowned Indian golfers including Jeev Milkha Singh (Shubhkamna Noida), recent winner of McLeod Russel championship - SSP Chowrasia (TAKE Chennai) and two time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar (Dev Ellora Chandigarh) and Asian Tour winner Anirban Lahiri (Puravankara Bangalore) attempting to guide their team to the trophy and winners' purse of 36 lakhs, the IPL version of golf will see some intense competition.
