Indian golf, growing at a tremendous pace, was given a further boost by the arrival of the €1.5 million Avantha Masters, to be played at Gurgaon’s DLF Golf & Country Club from February 11-14. The event will be tri-sanctioned between the Asian Tour, the European Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

Confirmed for three years beginning 2010, it will also be the first event in a new joint venture between Asian and European Tours to be known as EurAsia Golf Ltd.

The Avantha Masters will be the third European Tour event to be played in India, following the Indian Masters in February 2008 and the Johnnie Walker Classic soon after that.

George O’Grady, chief executive of the European Tour, said: “Professional golf in India has taken an enormous step forward in recent years, assisted by the superb achievements of a number of players, led by Jeev Milkha Singh. We are delighted to be returning to New Delhi, and the DLF Golf & Country Club, for the first event in our new collaboration with the Asian Tour, under the EurAsia banner, and the PGTI.”