Jeev and Jyoti set to take on global stars at inaugural HSBC India Legends Championship

Khel Today Bureau

Greater Noida: Indian superstars Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa are all set to take on former US Open winner Michael Campbell and six-time Legends Tour winner Adilson Da Silva of Brazil in the inaugural HSBC India Legends Championships which starts on Friday at the Jaypee Greens Golf Course.

The USD 500,000 event marks the first formal tournament for senior golfers in India and is part of the Europe-based Legends Tour. It will be contested over 54 holes and has drawn a number of notable and proven performers in the 64-man field.

The tournament is the 11th leg of this year’s Legends Tour. The winner will earn USD 74,250. The prize amount for finishing second is USD 49,000 while third place will fetch USD 32,700 with the purse divided all the way down the field.

Yuvraj Singh and Kapil Dev at pro-am. 

The event is co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India and was preceded by two Pro-Ams that were attended by a number of cricket stars including Kapil Dev, Yuvraj Singh, and Murali Kartik.

Said event host Jeev Milkha Singh on tournament-eve, “The guys are loving every aspect of their India experience, from the food to visiting the Taj Mahal and they are really enjoying the golf course which has been prepared very well. The only thing they say is that it is a bit warm for us but we have been lucky with the overcast weather these last couple of days.

“Plus we will all have carts so the heat should not be too much of a factor.”On the strong Indian presence in the field including the likes of domestic legends like Mukesh Kumar and Vijay Kumar, Digvijay Singh, Harmeet Kahlon and others, Jeev said he was hoping for a home winner at the HSBC India Legends Championship.

“It’s a very strong field and I think the Indians have a very good chance. I am certainly hoping for a home win because it will be an opportunity for whoever that is to join the Legends Tour from next week itself. So it’s a great opportunity and then you are exempt for one full year.”

Jyoti Randhawa, who won the Legends Tour Qualifying School finals earlier this year, said, “It’s an opportunity for me to be competitive as my passion for the game is still there. I have good memories of Jaypee Greens having won here multiple times. With the way the course is playing and taking the weather into account, I think the Indian players will have an advantage.”

Besides Campbell, who had 15 other wins around the world, the field also has the South Africa-based da Silva, who had the honour of hitting the first tee shot when golf made its return to the Olympics in his home country in 2016.

Others include South African James Kingston (21 wins including two on European Tour, and three on Legends Tour), Sweden’s first-ever Ryder Cup player, Joakim Haeggman (10 wins including three on European Tour and one on Legends Tour) and fellow-Swede Jarmo Sandelin.

On Thursday, Amandeep Johl led his team of amateurs Rajeev Singh, Ravinder Bhati and Amit Prakash Singh to victory on 85 points. Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin along with amateurs Akhil Sambhar, Amaan Sanwalka and Mayank Sanwalka was second on 84 points while Kapil Dev, Sanjay Sharma and Vivek Bhandari led by South African James Kingston were third with 82 points.