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.