Historic moment for Indian
golf in South Africa

Thursday will be a red-letter day for Indian professional golf when three of the country's finest exponents of the game -- Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal -- tee up for the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Alfred Dunhill Championship, which carries a total prize purse of 778,934 euros, is the first event of the 2001 European PGA Tour season. And it will be the first time that three Indians have made it to the final field in an international event outside Asia.

While Jeev Milkha Singh is a regular on the European PGA Tour and finished third in this tournament in 1999, Randhawa has made it to the stellar field by virtue of finishing second in the 2000 Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit. That gave him an exemption on the South African PGA Tour, which is co-sanctioning the event. Arjun Atwal, who finished fifth in the 2000 APGA Order of Merit, has received sponsors' exemption.

"This is a historic occasion for Indian professional golf," said Mr Pawan Kant Munjal, president, Professional Golfers Association of India. "This tournament showcases the rapid strides made by our golfers in recent years. I am sure this is just the start to what is possible in the coming years," he added.

"This would have been almost unthinkable a few years back," said Jeev Milkha Singh, the only Indian to have qualified for the European PGA Tour. "But looking at the way our boys are performing, I won't be surprised if we have more Indians in international tournaments in future," added the Arjuna Award winner over phone from South Africa.

Randhawa and Atwal both won two events on the Asian PGA Tour in 2000. Randhawa triumphed in the Wills Indian Open and Singapore Open, while Atwal bagged the Hero Honda Masters and Star Alliance Open titles in successive weeks in November.

The tournament, to be played at the 6,683-meter Houghton Golf Club, will also feature the defending champion Anthony Wall of England, apart from three-time British Open champion Nick Faldo and South African superstar Retief Goosen.

Also seen in action will be Simon Dyson, runner-up in 2000 Hero Honda Masters and Order of Merit winner of the Asian PGA Tour. Dyson has made it to the European PGA Tour after securing his card through the qualifying school. Several South African players who have been regulars on the Asian PGA Tour, including 1999 Hero Honda Masters and 2000 Wills Indian Open runner-up Sammy Daniels, will also contend for the 123,071 euro winners cheque.

The picturesque Houghton Golf Club course is known for its trademark rough, which is made of kikuyi grass. While the course may be long on yardage, the fact that it is situated at an altitude of almost 1600 meters, would make it play shorter as the ball is expected to run on the fairways. However, the roughs will demand accuracy off the tee.