Kapur, Sandhu and Chawrasia gear up for Phuket Championship

Veteran golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, Shiv Kapur, and Rashid Khan are among 14 Indian players who will compete at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship as action is set to resume on the Asian Tour after 20 months. The event, carrying a purse of one million dollars, will be held from November 25 to 28 at the par-72 Blue Canyon Country Club.

India will have as many as 14 players in the 144-man field, which signals a new era for the Asian Tour, which now has a tie-up with Greg Norman-led Liv Golf Investments, who have committed to 10 events of one million dollars each in the season 2022.

Ajeetesh Sandhu, S Chikkarangappa, Viraj Madappa, Aman Raj, SSP Chawrasia, Honey Baisoya, Udayan Mane, Khalin Joshi, Aadil Bedi, Karandeep Kochhar, and Veer Ahlawat are the other Indians in the fray.

The Dubai-based Kapur, who just won the Jeev Milkha Singh International on the Indian Tour, said, ''It will be nice to see action on the Asian Tour once again.'' ''It's been a long time and I am glad many of the youngsters and newcomers who were eager for competition in 2020 never got to see any of it since March 2020. The events in Thailand and Singapore should be a good start as the Asian Tour promises much more with its new tie-ups.'' Ajeetesh Sandhu and SSP Chawrasia did see some starts in Europe during the pandemic but were both happy to see tournaments return to the Asian Tour. ''It is great for Asian golfers and youngsters,” said Chawrasia, a six-time winner on the Asian Tour. “We hear a strong schedule will be in place next year, so let's see how it goes.” India’s Khalin Joshi and Chikkarangappa S have also tasted wins recently on the Indian Tour and are in fine form.

The top contenders include American John Catlin, who has had a great season in Europe, Korean prodigy Joohyung Kim, Thai master and reigning Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattananond and Malaysian star Gavin Green. Catlin is the highest world-ranked player in the field at 123 and he has won win three events on the European Tour.

The current Order of Merit leader Wade Ormsby of Australia who won the 2020 Hong Kong Open will also return to challenge for more honors. Korean sensation Joohyung Kim, who won the Panasonic Open India in only his sixth start on the Asian Tour, is also one of the fan favorites, and Thai hotshots include Sadom Kaewkanjana and Phachara Khongwatmai.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)