Click to play videoNew Delhi: Indian golf as well as golfers have always been heavily dependent on the corporate sector for their survival but the global economic slowdown has left the Indian golfers deeply worried and uncertain about their future.
Top Indian golfers at the launch of Bilt Open 2008 in Greater Noida on Thursday tried to put up a brave face.
Though the Rs 80-lakh event seems to have survived for now, the forecast is not very positive for golf.
The corporate world, reeling under the economic crisis, is pulling out of sporting events to cut costs, not only in India, but across the world and that has left the golfers deeply worried.
"It is being felt quite a bit. I think and hope that we just last out and sustain ourselves because the next two years are going to be really tough. We are going to see a lot of tournaments go out of the European tour, lot of tournaments from the US tour. But we are fortunate in a way as for some tournament the contracts are signed for three to five years. So we will still go through that, but the ones which are ending now, we will see them go," says Asia's top golfer Jeev Milkha Singh.
"I don't think golf can stand alone. If the economy is suffering and we are very heavily dependent on coporates like banking sector and automobiles and they seemed to be the hardest hit," Shiv Kapur says.
So while the scenario means fewer tournaments, the shadow of crisis is looming large over their personal endorsements as well. The golfers can't do much but are keeping their fingers crossed.
"Hopefully this is just a cycle that doesn't last too long. Everyone's talking about it as the Great Depression but hopefully it will pass out maybe in a year or 15 months and we will be back on track," says Kapur.
The Asian tour has, for now, succeeded in bringing out a fully sponsored calendar for the 2009 season, but it would be interesting to see, the number of sponsors, the PGTI will be able to rope in for the 2009 season in these difficult times.
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