The Louis Philippe Cup, India's premier pro team golf event, is set to be contested by 9 city-based teams of India's top 27 professional golfers at its new venue - Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida from February 13th to 16th 2013. The 9 Participating cities in this year's edition are Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Noida, Ahmedabad and Greater Noida- competing to be crowned the champions of one of the richest tournaments on the PGTI Calendar with a total prize money of Rs. 1.20 crores. The teams are respectively named Silverglades Delhi, AVT Kolkata, Take Solutions Chennai, Puravankara Bangalore, DLF Gurgaon, Dev Ellora Chandigarh, Shubhkamna Noida, Navratna Ahmedabad and Jaypee Greens Greater Noida.
In the inaugural edition in Bangalore last March, Navratna Ahmedabad consisting of Sri Lanka's tenacious Mithun Perera, and Delhi-based Vinod Kumar and long hitting Vikrant Chopra were surprise winners as they edged out Puravankara Bangalore which starred Anirban Lahiri in the final to grab the winning cheque of Rs. 36 lacs while Puravankara Bangalore took home Rs 24 lacs. Finishing in third place, Take Chennai headlined by European Tour player SSP Chowrasiae arned a purse of Rs. 18 lacs and Dev Ellora Chandigarh with Gaganjeet Bhullar received Rs. 12 lacs as they finished 4th.
The unique format of the four day event features two days (36 holes) of strokeplay in which all 9 teams will compete. The four teams with the best total team scores over 36 holes will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-finals and finals are played in Singles matches between the three players of each team. Each player will earn their team one point for a win and zero for a loss. The two winning semi-finalists will go head-to-head in the finals on the fourth day, while the losing semi-finalists will battle for 3rd place. Singles Matches tied after 18 holes go into sudden death hole by hole playoff.
Star Indian players who are confirmed to play include 2012 Scottish Open Champion ranked no. 32 on the 2012 European Tour - Jeev Milkha Singh who turns out once again for Shubhkamna Noida, Anirban Lahiri the 2012 Sail SBI Open (Asian Tour) winner who finished 31st with a hole in one at The 2012 British Open Championship who returns once again for Puravankara Bangalore, three-time Indian Open champion and former Asian Tour No. 1 Jyoti Randhawa who again plays for DLF Gurgaon and winner of the 2011 Singapore Classic Himmat Rai ( who will play for Delhi in 2013). India's highest world ranking player, the 2012 Macau Open & Yeangder Tournament Player Championship (Both Asian Tour) winner Gaganjeet Bhullar, will join the Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida team. Apart from the star players from international tours who are sponsors' picks on each team, the top 18 ranked players on the PGTI 2012 final order of merit are assured of a starting place on one of the nine teams.
"It's a fantastic format. A very high prize money is on the line and the idea of having different city teams competing with each other is something which will draw more fan-following into the game. I am really looking forward to representing Shubhkamna Noida again this year", said ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh.
Asian Tour star Gaganjeet Bhullar represented Dev Ellora Chandigarh last year but will be representing home team Jaypee Greens Golf Resort this time around. He Opined, "I will be representing Jaypee Greater Noida team this time as I have signed a three year deal with Jaypee Greens as their Brand Ambassador. I have Sanjay Kumar and R Murthy by my side who are good, experienced players and we'll try to exploit the home course advantage to the fullest. We all are really excited to feature in the 2nd edition Louis Philippe Cup. Jaypee is a course which really suits my eye and I am expecting good results there. "
Jyoti Randhawa said, "It's a refreshing format and it's a format which we professional golfers don't get to play much often. So it's very good for the change. Being the part of a team results in added pressure but the feeling of representing a city makes up for it. I hope we will put on a good show this time around."
The venue, Jaypee Greens is India's only Greg Norman designed golf course and is also the longest golf course of the country at par 72, 7347 yards. With its wide fairways, it's a treat for the long hitting power players. Of the previous six professional tournaments played at Jaypee Greens since 2006, Jyoti Randhawa of DLF Gurgaon Team has won twice in 2006 and 2008 while Puravankara's Anirban Lahiri has won once in 2009 and grabbed a couple of runner-up finishes. Chiragh Kumar representing AVT Kolkata Team has also won in 2011.
