January 31: India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has firmly lent his support to the Uttarakhand Lions, a franchisee team set to take part in the inaugural Golf Premier League, 2013. The India off-spinner is the co-owner of the team alongwith GTM group and NNI. The League is scheduled to be played at the Amby Valley Golf Resort, Maharashtra from 8th – 10th February.
Unveiling the team colours for Uttarakhand Lions, Harbhajan said "Being a cricketer my sport always gets adulation from the fans. I wanted to do something for other sports too. So when Tushar ji of GTM and Umesh Ji from NNI group proposed this idea of owning a golf team I jumped at the idea. While I will be busy with my cricketing engagements playing the Irani Cup, I will keep a close eye on the fortunes of my Lions, the Uttarakhand Lions."
Harbhajan's sentiments were echoed by his co-owners. "Harbhajan oozes passion for sports," said Tushar Kumar of GTM. "He told us that he loved the idea of having a team competition in golf which is perceived as an individual sport. Harbhajan's enthusiasm has rubbed off on us and now we too are trying our best to galvanise our team." Uttarakhand Lions team has a mix of stalwarts like European Tour Star Darren Clarke, (also the winner of 2011 British Open), Asian Tour’s Chapchai Nirat, World record holder with the lowest score of 32-under-par in Sail Open 2009, India’s Mukesh Kumar and another Indian Shankar Das, Currently No. 9 on PGTI’s Order of Merit list.
Umesh too emphasised the need to take golf to all parts of the country. "We wanted to see Uttarakhand on the world map and this was the best way of doing it. A golf team from Uttarakhand is a proud achievement in itself and if we go on to win the inaugural Golf Premier League it will be an icing on the cake."
On the occasion Harbhajan also launched the t-shirt and the mantra for his team -- “Lions conquer the Greens”.
The format of the four days play will include two day and night rounds of 14-hole stroke play. The teams performance will be calculated on the basis of cumulative score of all four players over the two rounds. The final and semi-final round is played between the top four teams. Apart from main three event rounds, there is a skills challenge and Pro-Am competition including amateur players and celebrity participants.
