Internationally recognised Indian golfers Jyoti Randhawa, Gaurav Ghei, Shiv Kapur and Uttam Singh Mundy along with 90 other professionals have signed up for the new Professional Golfers' Tour of India (PGTI) formed here on Tuesday.

The PGTI, which threatens to marginalise the Professional Golfers' Association of India (PGAI), the game's main body, have announced an initial schedule of six events with the aim of having a domestic Tour worth 80 million rupees ($1.74 million) with close to half the amount already secured through sponsorships.

The new body said it had broken away and set up the rival tour because its members were deeply unhappy with the way the game had been run by the PGAI and management company Tiger Sports Marketing (TSM).

"We've waited for a long time hoping to see things being sorted out, but nothing happened. We felt betrayed by both the PGAI and TSM," said Randhawa, one of the big guns on the Asian circuit.

"The transparency of the PGTI will set it apart from the PGAI," said Mundy who is urging more players to join the new Tour.

The breakaway has not come without resistance, however.

A good many of the PGAI's 400 members are undecided about which way to jump and some like Tour regular Ashok Kumar is openly hostile to the new body.

"These players don't play on the Indian circuit and so have no right to decide the fate of us other regular players by launching a new tour," Kumar said.

"If these players think they can bring in more money, why don't they get it for the PGAI?

"Even sponsors will be confused and it will not be good for Indian golfers, especially youngsters," Ashok added.

Mukesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Firoz Ali are among the top players from the domestic circuit who have decided to remain with the old body.

"The new body is asking us to resign from the PGAI, but how can we trust the new body?

"The PGAI has supported us all these years and they hardly take any entry fee from players, many of whom are caddy-golfers," Ashok concluded after pointing out that the PGAI still had over 400 players on its books.