Hero Honda ups prize money to US$300,000 for Masters

Hero Honda ups prize money to US$300,000 for Masters

Pune feb: The cream of Asian golf will assemble at the at DLF Golf & Country Club on February 14, 2002 for the fifth edition of Hero Honda Masters, which will carry an increased prize purse of US $ 300,000 this year.

With a fifty per cent rise in the prize purse, Hero Honda Masters 2002, the favourite golf tournament of Indian golfers, which has produced Indian winners over the last three editions, is expected to provide the drama that has become part and parcel of this premier tournament.

The four-day extravaganza sponsored by Hero Honda Motors Ltd, world's No 1 two-wheeler company, will be preceded by a Pro-Am event on Wednesday, February 13. The main event begins on Thursday February 14th and climaxes on Sunday, February 17th.

Announcing this at a press conference today, Mr Pawan Munjal, Director & CEO, Hero Honda Motors, said: "We have received excellent response for the tournament over the last four years and the Hero Honda Masters has become one of the finest sporting spectacles of the sub-continent." Mr. Munjal, the President of the Professional Golfers Association of India (PGAI), who is also the Vice-chairman, Asian PGA Tour, expressed his delight at his company's continued association with the Davidoff Tour. "I am hopeful that the new dates and the increased prize money will once again produce the highest quality of golf, something which has become the hallmark of Hero Honda Masters."

Hero Honda has also planned several other mini-events around the main tournament, which will add to the overall attraction of the event.

For the Indian golfers, Hero Honda Masters has been a favourite hunting ground. Ever since, Gaurav Ghei produced his trademark charge on the final day, but still fell tantalisingly short of Ted Purdy in 1997, Indian golfers have held sway over this tournament. Jyoti Randhawa made the tournament his own over the next two years and when the event was held at the beautifully landscaped DLF Golf & Country Club, Arjun Atwal won the title. Atwal will come into this fifth edition as the defending champion, and considering his current form, he may well be looking forward to emulating Jyoti Randhawa's feat of back-to-back wins.

The foreign challenge will be led by last year's Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit winner, Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand. A host of other entries like Yeh Wei-Tze of Chinese Taipei, Charlie Wi of Korea and others are expected over the next few days. Besides, past winners Randhawa and Atwal, the Indian challenge will include Jeev Milkha Singh, India's most successful golfer. The Hero Honda-sponsored Jeev, who has four wins on the Asian PGA Tour, is the only golfer to hold cards on four different international Tours _ Asian, Europe, Japan and South African PGA Tours.

"Hero Honda Masters is the showpiece event of the country and on behalf of the players and the Indian Golf Tour, I would like to thank Hero Honda for their continued support to the event, as well as the sport," said Brandon de Souza, President, Tiger Sports Marketing.

Cont…



The DLF Golf & Country Club, which will play host to the Hero Honda Masters for the second time, is a par-72, 7,070-yard long course. It is not only a visual delight, but has some of the best-maintained fairways and the fastest greens in the country. Though a relatively young course, the presence of water hazards, strategically-placed bunkers and the unpredictable wind conditions make the course challenging. The club has effected several changes this year, including adding new tees, to bring the best out of the pros.

While the golf aficionados will get their thrills from the on-course action, various off-course activities like game shows and contests are being planned to make the Hero Honda Masters an exciting weekend of fun and golf for the family members.

For further information, please contact:

*Jayant Ranade/ Sameer Ranade
98220 77627     98230 66106




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