The Indian Masters was a professional
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
tournament on the
European and
Asian Tours, that was played in February 2008. The tournament was introduced as part of the continuing globalisation of the European Tour, making India the 37th territory to stage a European Tour event, and increasing to twelve the number of tournaments played in Asia as of the 2008 season.
The tournament was initially only sanctioned by the European Tour and the
Indian Golf Union, the announcement of which drew sharp criticism from both
Asian Tour chairman
Kyi Hla Han and the
Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), with both organisations claiming that the European Tour had breached
International Federation of PGA Tours
Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organised into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some to ...
protocols by not making advance arrangements with them for co-sanctioning of an event to be staged in their region. The Indian Golf Union issued a statement a few days after the tournament was announced stating that the European Tour had approached it, and was willing to offer 20 invitations to Indian domestic players through the PGTI. The dispute was eventually settled, and the Asian Tour agreed terms to co-sanction the tournament in advance of its 2008 debut.
The 2008 prize fund was
US$2.5 million, which is the largest ever offered at a golf tournament in India, and also one of the largest in Asia, but slightly below the overall average on the European Tour. The promoters are Golf in Dubai, who are also responsible for the
Dubai Desert Classic
The Dubai Desert Classic is a European Tour golf tournament held on Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 1999 and 2000 it was held at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, all other editions have been held at Emirates Go ...
on the European Tour and the
Dubai Ladies Masters
The Dubai Moonlight Classic is a professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour (LET). The event was played for the first time in October 2006. Its prize fund of €500,000 made it the fourth most valuable tournament on the LET. Between ...
on the
Ladies European Tour.
Early in December 2008, organisers announced that due to financial problems with sponsors stemming from the
global economic situation, and security concerns following the
attacks in Mumbai, the 2009 event would be cancelled.
The long-established
Indian Open is also an Asian Tour event, and beginning in 2015 will be co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
Winners
See also
*
Avantha Masters, another co-sanctioned event in India, played from 2010 to 2013, considered a continuation of the Indian Masters by the European Tour but not by the Asian Tour
Notes
References
External links
Coverage on the European Tour's official site
{{Former European Tour Events
Golf tournaments in India
Former Asian Tour events
Former European Tour events
Defunct sports competitions in India