Chiragh wins PGTI Player of the Year

New Delhi: Chiragh Kumar was named the Professional Golf Tour of India`s Rolex Player of the Year for being the top earner in the 2011 season.

He received a Rolex custom engraved timepiece for earning Rs 3,706,821 for the season. The Rolex First Time Winners Awards were presented to Indian professionals Sanjay Kumar, Manav Jaini, Anura Rohana, Feroz Ali Mollah, Mithun Perera and Vinod Kumar. These six professionals registered their maiden victories on the PGTI during the 2011 season. Rashid Khan received the Aircel Emerging Player of the Year Award. Rashid won this award on the basis of accumulating the highest earnings among all those professionals who made their debut as full card holders on the PGTI in the 2011 season. Rashid took home over Rs. 2.7 million in prize money for the year 2011. He finished a strong fourth on the Rolex Rankings. "It is very encouraging to see so many young Indian golfers excel at international and domestic events. They, along with some of the established golfers, have made India an emerging power centre for golf in Asia. I am glad to say that corporate sponsorships have given unprecedented impetus to the growth of the game," said PGTI President Gautam Thapar. The awards ceremony last night was attended by top Indian professionals and all key stake holders critical to the growth of the sport in the region in the years to come. The evening featured a performance by famous Indian jazz musician Louis Banks and his band. PTI