Organizing a press conference on Tuesday, NGA and Surya Nepal also informed that they are trying to make arrangements for foreign trainings for selected young golfers.[break]
Six young golfers -- Dinesh Prajapati, Bikash Bogati, Bishnu Sharma, Ashish Pariyar, Sunil KC and Michael Rai -- have been getting training facilities and allowances since 2011 under the program that was launched to prepare Nepali team for the upcoming Asian Games 2014.
´After witnessing the performances of these boys in domestic and foreign tournaments, we can say we are heading in the right direction. They are producing some even-par scores also,´ said CB Bhandari, the coordinator of the program.
When asked about inconsistent performances of the selected youths, Bhandari said they are running a special camp for the golfers to address the problem. ´Chef-de-mission of the program Brandon de Souza has started a camp now and we"ll give them tips on maintaining concentration during the tournament and on planning for a particular course,´ said Bhandari.
NGA General Secretary Tashi Ghale claimed that the program has drawn national attention as the association is expecting medals at the 2014 Asian Games. ´I feel the home training may have been inadequate for these young boys and so we are trying to send them to countries like Korea and India for further training in better courses,´ said Ghale.
Renowned international golf professional and coach Brandon de Souza, who has been looking after the program as chef-de-mission, said the upcoming Surya Nepal Masters would be a stage where the boys could show their mettle.
´Masters is the stage, where you should make half-way cut,´ said de Souza addressing the young golfers during the press conference. ´A few years ago, a young Sri Lankan golfer Mithun Perera was here for Surya Nepal Masters as an amateur golfer. Now he earns around $400,000 in a year. I want these boys to live the same dream,´ said de Souza.
Addressing the press conference, Surya Nepal"s Vice-president for Marketing Abhimanyu Poddar said he was privileged to know about the golf activities in Nepal. ´We are looking forward to these young talents representing Nepal in the Asian Games,´ said Poddar.
Surya Nepal Masters from May 8
Surya Nepal Masters, a joint sanctioned event between the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and the Nepal Professional Golfers Association, is all set to feature star golfers of PGTI and Asian Tour when it tees off on May 7.
The Surya Nepal Masters 2013 will start with a Pro-Am event on May 7 while the main tournament will tee off on May 8.
´We have raised the prize money to Rs 4.8 million from Rs 4 million of last year. It has turned out to be an important tournament for the PGTI order of merit and some star golfers are coming to Nepal this time,´ said de Souza at the press conference.
According to Surya Nepal, three-time Asian Tour winner Anirban Lahari, Asian Games gold medalist and the topper of last year"s PGTI order of merit Chirag Kumar and former winner of Surya Nepal Masters Mukesh Kumar are the some of the stars participating in the Surya Nepal Masters.
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