The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Qualifying School 2022 will be held in Ahmedabad from January 7.
The Qualifying School, which kick starts each PGTI season, is one of the most important events on the PGTI calendar as it is the only route for players to qualify to play on the PGTI in a particular season. The tournament determines the criteria for players for the whole season.
The Qualifying School event runs for the longest duration among all PGTI events as it is staged over a period of two weeks. It is the biggest gathering of golfers in the country.
This year's Qualifying School event will witness participation by a total of 338 golfers including 259 professionals and 79 amateurs.
The Qualifying School heralds the infusion of fresh talent in Indian professional golf each year, as besides the established professionals, several young leading amateur and junior golfers from India and overseas also compete at the Qualifying School with the dream of qualifying for the PGTI and subsequently turning professional.
Besides Indian golfers, this year's Qualifying School will also feature as many as 20 golfers from foreign nations. This list includes eight players from Bangladesh, four from Canada, two from Australia, two from Sri Lanka, one from the USA, one from Great Britain, one from UAE, and one from Nepal.
This time around the PGTI is staging its Qualifying School after a gap of one year due to the pandemic. The last PGTI Qualifying School was staged in January 2020.
The first stage of the Qualifying School will comprise three 36-hole events - Pre Qualifying I, Pre Qualifying II, and Pre Qualifying III. While Pre Qualifying I will be staged on January 7 - 8, Pre Qualifying II will be held on January 10 - 11 and Pre Qualifying III takes place on January 13 - 14.
A specified number of players will make it to the Final Stage from the field of 101 at Pre Qualifying I, 90 at Pre Qualifying II, and 99 at Pre Qualifying III.
The qualifiers from the First Stage will join the 48 exempt players in the Final Stage which is scheduled to be held from January 17 - 20. The 72-hole Final Stage event will feature a field of 120 players.
The top 80 and ties will make the halfway cut after two rounds of the Final Stage. At the end of the Final Stage, the top 40 players will earn their full cards for the 2022 PGTI season. The Final Stage offers a total prize purse of Rs. 5 lakh.
( With inputs from ANI )
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