Golf tourism in Jammu and Kashmir to start from October 4

The third Jammu and Kashmir Open will take place at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course from October 4 to 7, the PGTI said on Monday. The tournament is part of J&K Tourism's golf tourism promotion in the region.

Jammu Tawi Golf Course in Jammu will host the third edition of the Jammu and Kashmir Open from October 4 to October 7 this year, the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) announced on Monday.

The event, which is part of J&K Tourism's initiative to promote golf tourism in the region, will have a total prize purse of INR 50 lakh this year. The Pro-Am event will take place on October 8.

Jammu and Kashmir boasts of prominent golf courses such as Royal Springs Golf Course (Srinagar), Pahalgam Golf Course (Lidder Valley), Gulmarg Golf Club and Jammu Tawi Golf Course. These courses offer a rich experience to golfers, the release said.

The event will feature some of the top golfers from India and neighbouring countries. Among the Indian contenders are Udayan Mane, Rashid Khan, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, who won the title last year, and Honey Baisoya, who clinched the trophy in 2017. The international participants include Jamal Hossain and Badal Hossain from Bangladesh and N Thangaraja and Mithun Perera from Sri Lanka.

The tournament is supported by the J&K Tourism Department, which aims to promote the state as a golfing destination. Amarjeet Singh, Special Secretary, J&K Tourism Department, said that they are happy to partner with the Open golf tournament and the PGTI and hope to strengthen their relationship in the future.

The UT of Jammu & Kashmir is an ideal destination for Golf Tourism, as it offers scenic and challenging golf courses for both business and leisure travellers from all over the world. We are proud to partner with PGTI and host the Open, which will showcase the world-class golfing facilities in J&K to a larger audience.

Jammu Tawi Golf Course, Secretary, Manav Gupta, said they have ensured the best possible playing conditions at JTGC and are hopeful that the players will have a memorable experience of playing here.

"The J&K Open also gives a great opportunity for our local golfers to compete with the top professionals in the country. This will help them learn from the best and improve their skills and confidence, which will ultimately lead to producing more champions from J&K in the future."

Vice President, PGTI, and former India cricket captain, Kapil Dev, said they are thrilled to have a PGTI event in the picturesque surroundings of Jammu and Kashmir.

We are grateful to J&K Tourism and the Jammu Tawi Golf Course for their collaboration in hosting the event that enables us to provide more playing opportunities for Indian professional golfers. The tournament will also help promote Jammu and Kashmir in general and Jammu in particular as a prime destination for Golf Tourism for both international and domestic travellers.

Jammu Tawi Golf Course, is an 18-hole course, designed by Col. K.D Bagga, a renowned international designer. The course was inaugurated in April 2011.

The course has fairways approximately 6600 meters long, it has two large and three small water bodies and a water channel about 3200 meters long.