Patna, Nov. 18: Chief minister Nitish Kumar plays the game but golf is far from being popular in the state he heads, said Manik Vedsen, the secretary of Patna Golf Club.

Vedsen told The Telegraph that more golf courses like the Patna Golf Club, of which Nitish is a member, could only make the sport popular in the city.

“We are not getting any support from the state government. However, people here are picking up the game slowly but steadily. It might be matter of time before people start taking more interest in golf,” Vedsen said, adding that around 250 amateur golf players and over 100 professionals are a part of Patna Golf Club.

On the future of golf, Arvind Singh, the captain of Patna Golf Club said: “I am sure that a decade from now, the game will be far more popular as more and more people would play it. We keep on organising national tournaments here primarily in an attempt to popularise the game.”

He said Bihar had a long way to go and is “not comparable” to other cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.

Vedsen and Singh were speaking on the sidelines of a news conference on Juris Cup, a two-day tournament, to be organised by the club from November 19. A total of 120 golfers will participate in the tournament. Most of the participants of the tournament are lawyers and judges.

Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad of Supreme Court of India and former president of Patna Golf Club will take part in the tournament. Several armymen, doctors, bureaucrats would also be a part of the tournament.

Vedsen added that there would be no prize money for the winner and only trophies would be distributed.

Besides the main 36-hole golf tournament, there would be nine-hole tournament for senior ladies and juniors.