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Mr Gautam Thapar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, BILT, at a news conference to announce a new event in the Indian Golf calendar

NEW DELHI, March 22

AFTER one-day cricket, now coming to India for the first time is one-day golf. Better known as the `skins golf format', this first time international event, to be held in Gurgaon on April 20, brings with it renowned golfer Vijay Singh and a substantial prize money of Rs 22.5 lakh. Sponsored by paper major Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT), the event is likely to alter the face of golf in the country.

Will golf now go the way of cricket in terms of popularity and commercialisation in India? "What's the problem with commercialisation?'' asks Mr Ravi Krishnan Managing Director, India and South Asia, IMG-TWI, as he explains that `skins' is basically a made-for-television format at play which was conceptualised in 1980 and suits the lifestyle on the fast track.

In the skins format, players compete at each hole for a specified sum of money. A player must win the hole outright to win the money marked for each hole. If two or more players tie, the prize money gets carried forward to the next hole.

The event called `BILT Skins Golf with Vijay Singh' will also feature popular Indian players Arjun Atwal, Harmeet Kahlon and cricketer Kapil Dev and be played at the 18-hole DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, designed by Arnold Palmer.

Though BILT's association with golf is not new, this time round the company has stepped further into the greens by sponsoring the entire event, which will cost it around Rs 1 crore.

Besides promoting the game, BILT also hopes to build a television-driven international brand equity through the event. Not only would the company be able to bring all its stakeholders together at one spot, but in a sense it would be making sporting history.

Mr Gautam Thapar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, BILT, was also quick to point out that the company chose to promote golf thanks to its clean image, "It's probably the only sport which is not tainted and where India has been consistently producing winners both domestically and at the international level,'' he said.

But will the skins format rob the game of its romance and leisurely pace?. "No,'' says Mr Krishnan, "instead of a romance, it will now be a love affair.'' A lucrative love affair at that?

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