On the golf green

Pawan Munjal, managing director, Hero Honda Motors had a hectic last week in October. He was often spotted on the road connecting the Hero Honda factory in Gurgaon and the Delhi Golf Club.

While in the factory, he was giving the final touches to the new range of scooters that the group plans to roll out; at the golf course he was seen exchanging pleasantries with eight-odd amateur and 136 professional golfers, top corporates and socialites.

For, between Octobe 29-30, Munjal hosted the much talked about and widely advertised Hero Honda India Open 2005.

Hero Honda was the prime sponsor of the India Open 2005, won by Thawom Wirat-chant of Thailand, where Jyoti Randhawa finished in sixth and Arjun Atwal in eleventh place.

Interestingly, this was the first golf tournament in India that was telecast live on ESPN-Star Sports during the weekend. Hero Honda spent $3,00,000 on prize money and is committed to the sponsorship of this event for three years.

It also plans to take the prize money to $5,00,000 in two years.

A visit to the Delhi Golf Club suggested that the event was meticulously planned with an airconditioned marquee (special enclosure for VIP guests to watch the 18th hole, a regular feature internationally but incorporated in India for the first time), lots of open space and lots of food being served in different restaurants.

Needless to say, most of Delhi's who's who were present "" some to watch golf and some only to be seen around.

However, Chris Jordan, senior vice president, golf, World Sports Group (WSG), one of the big global names in sports event management, says the golf craze is on the rise.

"Indian golfers like Jyoti Randhawa, Firoz Ali, Ali Sher, Shiv Kapur and Arjun Atwal are internationally known and respected names in the world of golf; that is one reason why more and more Indians are associating themselves with golf," says Jordan.

He also expects the prize money of the India Open to rise to $1 million in five to six years time.

Twenty-four different countries with 144 players participated in the game, which included 40 Indian pros.

To make sure that the event gets lots of visitors, WSG, which has a six-year deal with India Open, deliberately chose the Delhi Golf Club over the more sprawling and better-maintained ones in Manesar and Gurgoan.

According to Jordan, the centrally located Delhi Golf Club proved to be a big crowd puller. What was clear at the golf club was that, as Indian players do well internationally, more and more youngsters and ladies are getting hooked on to events like this.

"This was the first time a golf tournament in India was telecast live on satellite TV," says Jordan. The event also had other highlights "" on the sidelines of the main tournament, there was a clinic for amateurs and youngsters conducted by Arjun Atwal, who took classes on the nuances of golfing.

For Hero Honda, this was its first association with the India Open; before that it was the prime sponsor of the Hero Honda Masters.

The company has also been one of the main partners in the cricket World Cup 2003 and will be the main partner for World Cup 2007. Munjal claims the company has particular interests in cricket, as it is a national passion, and golf, which is catching up fast.

He was also the president of Professional Golfers Association last year and has been the chairman of Asian Tour for two years.

Hero Honda spends part of its annual adspend, which is around 2.5 per cent of its total sales, on organising events like this. "Next year we will raise the prize money to $4,00,000 and to $5,00,000 the year after for Indian Opens," says Munjal.

The company was one of the sponsors for the Johny Walker SuperSeries held recently in Australia. Its contribution to the sporting world is also through Hero Honda Indian Sports Awards (HISA), somewhat in line with the Europe-based Laureus World Sports Awards.

Munjal himself has been an amateur golfer for the last 10-15 years and tries his luck with his Honda golf set whenever he gets the time.

So if you ever want to catch Munjal on a weekend, you know where to go.