Udayan Mane, Rashid Khan to lead Indian golfers in Pune Open

Indian golfers including Udayan Mane, Rashid Khan and Ajeetesh Sandhu will vie for the coveted trophy of the Pune Open Golf Championship at the Poona Club Golf Course from October 19 to 22.

Apart from these, the tournament will also feature Viraj Madappa, Veer Ahlawat, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Manu Gandas, Varun Parikh and Om Prakash Chouhan as well as former champions Kshitij Naveed Kaul (2019), Anura Rohana (2017) and Harendra Gupta (2016), to name a few.

Besides Sri Lankan Anura Rohana, the other names leading the international challenge will be those of Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, N. Thangaraja and K. Prabagaran, Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain, Badal Hossain and Md Akbar Hossain as well as N'pal's Sukra Bahadur Rai.

The host city of Pune will be represented by professionals Rohan Dhole Patil, Gurki Shergill (a former winner on PGTI), Pravin Pathare, Sameer M Shaikh, Rajiv Datar, Sagar Raghuvanshi and Sunil Baburao Galfade as well as amateurs Aaron Rockey and VP Vimal Dev.

The tournament, which carries a prize purse of Rs. 40 lakh, is a 72-hole stroke-play event featuring a field of 126 players including 123 professionals and three amateurs. The cut will be applied after the first 36 holes. The top 50 players and ties will make the halfway cut and continue to play for another 36 holes.

Olympian Udayan Mane, one of the leading players in the field this week, said, "I always look forward to playing in my hometown Pune as it gives me an opportunity to spend time with my family as I'm otherwise travelling for the most part of the year. At the Poona Club Golf Course this week, there will be a premium on putting the ball in play especially since the fairways will be wet due to the continuous rain. Putting will also hold the key. Whoever adapts the best and the fastest will end up winning.

Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, "The Pune Open, now in its sixth edition, has grown into one of the most important stops on the PGTI in recent years. With the top golfers of the country teeing it up at the event, golf fans in Pune are in for a visual treat. We thank the Poona Club Golf Course and other event partners for supporting us in staging this event."

"The season has not been great for me to be honest unlike the past season but I feel that I'm just getting warmed up now. The game, mindset and work ethic is there so it's just a matter of time before I get back to my best."