Gurgaon: Defending champion SSP Chowrasia, Jeev Milkha Singh, who looks forward to 2012 to break into the top 100 world ranking; Gaganjeet Bhullar; winner of BILT Open 2011 Chirag Kumar; and Himmat Singh Rai will be among the top Indian golfers vying for glory in the US$ 4 bn Avantha Masters to be held at the DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon, from February 16 – 19, while the Pro-Am is on February 15. The tournament carries a prize purse of €1.8 mn.

The entry list is an impressive roll call of the who’s who of professional golf. As on date, players from Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas feature in the entry list. Contenders include 57 European Tour players, 47 Asian Tour players and 22 PGTI players and six sponsor invites.

Yogesh Agarwal, MD & CEO, Ballarpur International Graphic Paper Holdings B.V. (BIGPH), said – “The Avantha Masters is one of the most coveted tournaments played out in our country. In the last two editions, we received tremendous spectator response. To make it more interesting, we are offering free entry for golf lovers to come and experience this magnificent world-class event.”