Chikkarangappa to defend his title at India Masters

Bengaluru: S Chikkarangappa will come out to defend his title at 2nd TAKE Solutions India Masters where ADT Order Of Merit leader Casey O'Toole will be part of the field in the golf event, beginning October 28.

Arie Irawan of Malaysia (4) and Australia's Jake Sterling (5th) have also confirmed their participation in the event, which is India's only Asian Development Tour & PGTI co- sanctioned tournament.

Apart from Chikkarangappa, Delhi golfer Chiragh Kumar will also compete. Chiragh's confidence is high following his outstanding second place finish at the Macao Open, which earned him his Asian Tour card for 2016.

Delhi?s Himmat Rai, a former winner on the Asian Tour and Shubhankar Sharma who finished 4th at the 2014 Panasonic Open will also be top contenders.

Rahil Gangjee of Kolkata will be looking to rediscover some of his lost form at the 7,100 yards, par-72 course.

Joining them will be PGTI Rolex Rankings leader Abhijit Singh Chadha of Chandigarh, Bengaluru's Khalin Joshi - Winner, 2015 PGTI Ahmedabad Masters, the in form Udayan Mane and last year?s runner up Abhishek Jha ? both hailing from Eagleton Golf Resort.

The ADT, which was launched in 2010, is designed in the same structure as the Web.Com Tour in America and the European Challenge Tour in Europe. The ADT is the stepping-stone to the Asian Tour and the exciting world of international golf.

The USD 120,000 tournament, to be held at Eagleton Golf Resort, will also feature American Brett Munson who recorded a strong fourth place finish at last week's Venetian Macao Open, and Singapore's Lam Chih Bing who led briefly during the final round of the 2013 Panasonic Open and was the winner of the 2007 BILT Open, a PGTI event.

The winner of the TSIM will receive six Official World Golf Ranking points. Earning official world ranking points through the ADT and Asian Tour will also mean that the players stand a chance to earn their spots in the 2016 Olympic Games that is going to be held in Rio de Janeiro in August.