The buzz of 2008’s calendar had been absent from this season, but Indian golfers can again look at busier times in the next one. The country is set to host at least two new Asian Tour tournaments in 2010, with the national capital region being the hub of activity once more. The announcement will be made shortly, according to PGTI’s Padamjit Singh Sandhu.

“We have been involved in extremely positive discussions over the past few days with our sponsors as well as the Asian Tour. We will make the two tournaments public in a couple of weeks’ time once the formal agreement with the Asian Tour is signed,” Sandhu, the sales and marketing director of the Professional Golf Tour of India, told The Indian Express on Tuesday.

The first tournament, promised to be a high-profile one, will be over $1 million in prize money and will be held at the DLF Golf & Country Club, where C Muniyappa became the latest international title winner from India a little over a week ago.

The second event, reported to be worth $500,000 in prize money and likely to be in the week right after, will be held either at Greater Noida’s Jaypee Greens or the Delhi Golf Club.

Big names

“We’re definitely looking at a prize purse over and above $1 million and the sponsors hope to bring in big names for the first event,” Sandhu said.

The current season had been a dull one after the boom of last year when the country hosted two European Tour tournaments in addition to two separate Asian Tour events.

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