Rookies Kshitij, Priyanshu and Yuvraj promising prospects at inaugural ICC RCGC Open Golf Championship

Key
Highlights -

. Rookies Kshitij, Priyanshu and Yuvraj promising
prospects at inaugural ICC RCGC Open Golf Championship

. Trio to make the first display at RCGC since turning pro

. The first Pro-Am event was played on Wednesday with a
professional being paired with a team of three amateurs each. 

{Press Release}: Rookies Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Priyanshu
Singh, and Yuvraj Singh Sandhu will be promising prospects at the inaugural ICC
RCGC Open Golf Championship being played at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC)
from December 12 – 15, 2019.

The young trio will make their first appearance at the
historic RCGC since turning professional.

Delhi-based Kshitij Naveed Kaul is the highest-ranked player at the Rs. 40 lakh event as he is currently placed fourth in the 2019 TATA Steel PGTI Order of Merit. The 19-year-old Kaul, who became the third-youngest winner on the PGTI after Shubhankar Sharma and Karandeep Kochhar earlier this year, is raring to have a go at one of his favoured venues.

Kaul said, “The RCGC is a great course and I’ve always
enjoyed playing here. I’ve played a lot here as a junior. I won here a few
times as a junior, so I know the course well. This time it’s playing just
amazing. One needs good ball-striking to score low here.

As for his targets for the remaining three events of the
season, Kshitij added, “I never set targets or limits as I see them. Instead, I
just focus on hitting each shot as well as I can.”

The 23-year-old Priyanshu Singh, another rookie who has won on the PGTI this year, made his first-ever trip to the RCGC on Wednesday. The Gurugram-based lad is excited about playing at the revered venue for the first time.

Priyanshu said, “It’s my first time here, so I’m looking forward to a whole new challenge. The greens are outstanding and the course seems like a true test of golf. The rough is up, so one needs to drive the ball good. Whoever keeps the ball in play and hits the mid-irons close is going to have a good week for sure.

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu has also had a memorable
rookie season on the PGTI having won the Feeder Tour Order of Merit after
posting two wins on the tour this year. The 22-year-old goes into the ICC RCGC
Open with some higher goals on his mind.

Sandhu said, “The last time I was at RCGC I was here as India’s No. 1 amateur during the 2017 All India Amateur. So it’s a good feeling to be back as a professional this time around.

“I feel I’m putting my foot down on the PGTI and achieving my goals slowly but surely. My next aim is to earn an exemption into the final stage of the Asian Tour Q School. For that, I need to be in the top-20 of the PGTI Rankings at the end of the season. I’m 31st at the moment. 

So in the last three events, I need to put up some solid
performances to break into the top-20.

The other names to reckon in the field this week are
those of the experienced Mukesh Kumar, Shamim Khan (winner of PGTI’s last
event) and Chiragh Kumar as well as local favourites Shankar Das and Sunit
Chowrasia. Sunit, a nephew of the legendary SSP Chawrasia, is fresh from a
career-best tied fifth finish at the last PGTI event in Ahmedabad.

The first Pro-Am event was played on Wednesday with a
professional being paired with a team of three amateurs each. This contest
continues with Sunday’s Pro-Am event, where the remaining fourth member of each
amateur team that played today will be paired alongside two other
professionals.

The
fourth round of the main event will run concurrently with the Pro-Am event on
Sunday. There will be a separate Pro-Am event on Saturday that will run
concurrently with the third round of the main event.