SRF adds Matchplay to Indian Golf Tour
The thrills and excitement of matchplay format will become a part of the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour when the SRF All-India Matchplay Championship is played at the Delhi Golf Club from April 1, 2002.
The SRF Matchplay will thus replace the SRF Open - a 72-hole strokeplay
event that has been a part of the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour for 27 years.
Under the patronage of SRF Limited, this is the longest running tournament
on the Indian domestic circuit.
Speaking to the media, Dr Bharat Ram, chairman, SRF Ltd and a founding
member of Delhi Golf Club, said: "SRF Ltd has enjoyed a long relation with
professional golf and it gives us great pride to see the tremendous strides
made by our players in recent times. We have always wanted our tournament to
be enjoyed by the players and the spectators and changing the format to
matchplay is a new initiative of ours in that direction."
"Delhi Golf Club is delighted to be associated with the SRF Matchplay which
has been played at our course for the last 27 years. Lot of history is
attached to this tournament and we are looking forward to many more years of
hosting it at the DGC," said Ashok Malik, Captain, DGC.
The SRF Matchplay will feature 64 players - top-50 from last season's Order
of Merit, two winners of events not included above, Order of Merit winner on
PGAI's Mini Tour, top-two players from the Qualifying School, and one
medically exempt player. Rest eight spots are reserved for Title sponsor,
Tour sponsor and the host club.
The prize-money for the tournament has been raised to Rs one million from last
season's Rs 850,000. The winner's cheque will be worth Rs 175,000, while
the runner-up will be richer by Rs 100,000. Even the first-round loser is
assured of Rs 7,000.
A pro-am is scheduled for Monday, April 1, followed by the main tournament
starting Tuesday, April 2. The inaugural day will witness 32 matches. 16
matches will feature 32 players in the second round on Wednesday. The
pre-quarters and the quarter-finals will be played on Thursday, April 4.
After the semis on Friday, the final will be a 36-hole affair on Saturday,
April 6. The Loser's Plate for the third and fourth place will also be
played on the same day over 18 holes.
A list of 16 seeds will be taken out prior to the tournament. The seeding
will be done on the basis of the recent performance of the players, as well
as their Order of Merit positions. The seeding will be followed by the
finalisation of the draw, to be done by random draw of lots.
The matchplay is a unique format where the players are pitted directly
against one another and the loser gets knocked out of the tournament. While
strokeplay rewards consistency over four days, matchplay asks for
consistency, risk-taking, mindgames and individual brilliance, thus making
it one of the most exciting formats in golf. Shiv Prakash won the last
matchplay championship when it was played in Mumbai in 1998-99 season.
While all the top pros in the country are expected to participate in the
tournament, including current Money List leader Mukesh Kumar, No 2 Feroz
Ali, the reigning Hero Honda Masters champion Harmeet Kahlon, winner of
Royal Challenge Indian Open, Vijay Kumar, as well as players like Gaurav
Ghei, Arjun Singh, Vivek Bhandari and Uttam Singh Mundy.