Joseph Andrade, the former Captain of Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, has put himself in prime position to win the Indian Golfers Society’s (IGS) inaugural Golfer of the Year award ahead of the Summer Open, the fourth and final event of the season.
Andrade has racked up 2,916 points in the first three events, helped by consistent performances in all three tournaments, closely followed by Ashok Sindhu (2,683) and Kush Sama (2,587).
The fifth edition of the Summer Open gets underway at Emirates Golf Club on Thursday, April 21, with a 12:45 shotgun start. With 2,000 points up for grabs for the champion and 1,600 for the runner-up, a host of players are within striking distance of Andrade.
The introduction of the Golfer of the Year, which is presented to the winner of the Order of Merit title, is one of the major highlights of the new IGS season, aimed at keeping the competition interesting throughout the four events.
The Summer Open, which has already been fully subscribed, will follow the individual stableford format with three-fourth of the course handicap. Prizes will be presented to the top three in the two divisions.
The top-40 players from the Order of Merit will be eligible to compete in the ‘Race to Scotland’ tournament, which will be held at Jumeirah Golf Estates in May.
With Bentley as the main sponsor of the society, the IGS events are supported by Nexus, Chivas, Chesterton, Midcom, Al Dhahra Kohinoor and AIPL.