Professional Golf Tour of India

The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is a professional golf tour for men based in India. The tour was formed in 2006, as the successor to the Indian PGA Golf Tour, which ran from 1997 to 2006.

The PGTI serves as a feeder tour for higher level tours such as the Asian Tour. Many Indian players have become members of the Asian Tour, while a small number have joined the world's leading two tours, the European Tour and the United States-based PGA Tour.

The PGTI became a member of the International Federation of PGA Tours in 2009, but its events do not carry World Ranking Points, except for the Indian Open and the SAIL Open, which are co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, and the Avantha Masters, which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

India's Royal Calcutta Golf Club was founded in 1829 and is usually regarded as the oldest outside the United Kingdom. In the early years Indian golf with dominated by British players and it was not until 1949 that Mohinder Bal became the first Indian to win the All-India Amateur Championship. The Indian Golf Union (IGU) was founded in 1955 to take over responsibility for Indian Golf, which had previously been largely in the hands of the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. The sport was still dominated by amateurs at that point, but most of them were now Indian.

In 1957 the IGU started a training program for caddies and professionals. In 1964 the Indian Open (open that is to both amateurs and professionals), was established and it soon replaced the All-India Amateur as the leading golf tournament in the country. Australian and five time British Open champion Peter Thomson used to stop over in India on his way from Australia to Europe, and he won the Indian Open in 1964, 1966 and 1976. Major Billoo Sethi, an amateur, was the first Indian to win this tournament in 1965. In 1970 the Indian Open became part of the Asian Golf Circuit, the predecessor of the Asian Tour. In 1991 Ali Sher a professional golfer won the Indian Open, which made professional golf a much more attractive career option in India.

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