Seasoned golfer Rahil Gangjee, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, will be leading the Indian charge at the inaugural Louis Philippe Cup, set to commence here at the Prestige Golfshire Club on Tuesday.
The Kolkata bred and Bengaluru based pro won his second career Asian Tour event this year, winning the $1.37 million Panansonic Open Golf Championship in Ibaraki, Japan, back in April this year.
The win netted him a purse of $283,018 (Rs 1.9 crores approximately) and has seen him catapult to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit rankings, where he is currently placed at 5th position with yearly earnings of $290,425 million thus far.
Speaking before teeing off at home base Rahil, known as one of the longest hitters in the country and who also has experience of playing on the Web.com tour in the US for six years, said, "I have played the LP cup almost every year now but in a different format.
"I have enjoyed the event at all its destinations. The fact that it has become an ADT event means that the Louis Philippe Cup is growing in stature and heading in the right direction.
"I have played at the Prestige Golfshire many times now over the last two years and I would say the weather conditions at this part of the year are the toughest due to high winds. The course is in awesome shape and lush green due to rains. I look forward to enjoying myself."
The Panasonic Open win also made him a winner on the Japan Tour and earned him a playing card on that competitive tour as well.
On immediate future plans, Rahil says, "my plans for the rest of the year is to play in Japan, but I will play my minimum events on the Asian Tour.
Rahil goes into the meet as the highest ranked Indian pro and he will be facing a stiff challenge from the likes of Marcus Both of Australia, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour and Indian pros like S. Chikkarangappa, Rashid Khan and Himmat Rai among others.
The Louis Philippe Cup, the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) co-sanctioned event, will see 132 golfers, including 60 foreign golfers from 20 different countries tee-off.
--IANS
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