New Delhi, August 1: The Hero Honda Indian Open, India's flagship golfing event has raised its prize purse to a staggering USD 1 million doubling it from the previous year's amount of USD 500,000. The event, scheduled to take place at the prestigious Delhi Golf Club from 9 – 12 October 2008, will be sponsored by Hero Honda, the world's NO. 1 two wheeler company. The tournament - now in its 45th edition started way back 1964.

Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, said: "Hero Honda has enjoyed a long and rewarding association with the Indian Open. We have been increasing the prize money by US$100,000 each year from 2005 onwards, and now the Hero Honda Indian Open has become a million dollar tournament.

"This is a reflection of our strong commitment to the promotion of the game in the country. We will continue to keep increasing the prize money in the coming years, thereby making the Hero Honda Indian Open grow in stature. I am sure the event will now attract more marquee players from the international arena, which will add to its increasing popularity."

The 2007 edition of the Hero Honda Indian Open witnessed, India's Jyoti Randhawa triumph, thereby becoming only the second player after Australian legend Peter Thompson, to lift the trophy three times. Thompson incidentally won the inaugural edition of the event in 1964.

"It is with great enthusiasm that we look forward to the 45th staging of our national Open. This will be an exceptional year for the tournament as the prize money has been increased to US$1 million. This is a huge boost to the tournament which over the past few years has really made great strides forward," said T.T. Jagannathan, President, Indian Golf Union.

"The Hero Honda Indian Open boasts a wealth of great memories and with the tournament continuing to grow in stature on the Asian Tour we are sure many more glorious chapters will be written about the event in the future," he added.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi HlaHan lauded the increase in the tournament's prize fund. "It is a wonderful reflection of the growth of professional golf in India and across Asia. On behalf of our talented players, I would like to extend our fullest appreciation to Hero Honda for their steadfast support towards the Asian Tour, and with enhanced prize money every year. The Asian Tour's 2008 season is poised for a record year with our schedule offering an all-time high of 29 tournaments and over US$38 million in prize money."

World Sport Group will promote the event as part of its six-year agreement with the Asian Tour. They are responsible for the sponsorship, event management and media.

"For the past three years the Hero Honda Indian Open has been a wonderful golfing spectacle and we are anticipating another fine championship. The tournament has evolved into a world class tournament thanks to the support of all sponsors and other stakeholders, and a fine venue in Delhi Golf Club," said Chris Jordan, Senior Vice President - Golf, World Sport Group.