For a city increasingly starved of top level non-cricket sporting events in recent times, the return of a professional golf tournament to Mumbai comes as a breath of fresh air.
On Friday, with cricket legend Kapil Dev signing the dotted lines, the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) launched the Shri Shashi Ruia Memorial Golf Championship which marks the return of a big-ticket professional golf in Mumbai after a long gap.
The inaugural edition of the DP World PGTI tournament, with a prize purse of ₹2 crore, will be played at the Willingdon Sports Club course from January 12-15, 2027.
“We’re coming back to Mumbai after many, many years – maybe 12 to 15,” said Amandeep Johl, the PGTI CEO.
In the past, Willingdon SC and The Bombay Presidency Golf Club routinely hosted professional tournaments. The CIDCO Open, with a ₹1 crore prize purse, is currently held annually in Navi Mumbai. In Mumbai, though, professional golf events have seen a bit of a lull.
“Mumbai has produced some great golfers. A lot of presidents of the Indian Golf Union used to be from there. But somewhere along the line, professional golf got derailed. Corporate golf took over,” said Johl. “And like Kapil Dev said, corporate golf is fine, but till you do not support professional golf… we owe it to our next generation. We must bring back professional golf in a big way in Mumbai.
“World will be watching”
The PGTI CEO said there is “huge talent” for the sport in Mumbai, with three golf courses, apart from those close by in Lonavala and Pune, that can provide the right ecosystem.
“The ecosystem needed a jump, and we are going to make a huge impact with this tournament,” said Johl. “And the world will be watching. Last week, we made a huge impact with the DP World India Championship (in New Delhi). I think the Shri Shashi Ruia Memorial Golf Championship will give a similar buzz and impetus to golf in the western region.”
The tournament, which will feature some of the country’s leading male professionals, will be played in a “unique format” with a mix of professionals and amateurs competing for the “high prize money”.
Kapil Dev, the PGTI president, reckoned tournaments like these can “give a kickstart” to making the sport more mainstream in India.
“We think golf is played only by the elite. Not anymore,” the 1983 World Cup winning captain said. “Our job is to bring more tournaments. We are just hoping for one big kick – maybe someone winning a big world event. Look at what our girls did at the Asian Games. These things will make the game a lot bigger.”
The historic gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games by Pranavi Urs, the first by an Indian woman golfer, created plenty of buzz for the sport.
“Only 300 girls play golf in our country, and we won the gold in Asia. Imagine, if we can have 3,000 girls playing, we can be sure of a gold medal in the Olympics also,” said Kapil.