India has lost its leading golf tournament after the Avantha Group withdrew its title sponsorship of the country’s sole European Tour event citing the effects of the Indian economic climate.
The Indian business conglomerate has put its name to the Avantha Masters for the past four years, but said it would require a substantial increase in prize money and a more attractive slot on the calendar to attract top golfers for 2014 and beyond.
“Given the current economic conditions, the Avantha Group has concluded that this is not the appropriate moment to do so and has therefore not renewed its contract with the European Tour,” Avanta said in a statement reported by the Reuters news agency.
The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is now seeking other sponsors for the tournament, whose 2013 edition was won by South Africa’s Thomas Aiken in March.
“Next year's Avantha Masters is off schedule,” PGTI director Padamjit Sandhu said. “But we will continue to talk to other interested parties and if anyone is willing, we will be happy to put a European Tour event back in India.”
European Tour chief operating officer Keith Waters told the Times of India newspaper: “It's a great challenge to support an event of this nature in India, especially when a sponsor is not sure how much revenue it would generate or get in terms of publicity with a minuscule target audience and following.
"We haven't awarded the slot reserved for Masters (March 20-23) to anyone. If a corporate approaches us in time, it's still possible.”