Chandigarh, Feb 15 (IANS): As many as 240 golfers will battle it out for the top honours in the 17th edition of the Mercedes Trophy at the Chandigarh Golf Course here on Thursday.

The two-day leg coming after the ninth Kolkata leg will see four city golfers (two from each day) who will make it to the National finals to be held at Pune's Oxford Golf Resort from March 15-17.

The tournament so far has seen qualification of 23 golfers from the eight legs held in Pune, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Chennai and Kolkata.

The 41 winners from the qualifying rounds being held in 12 cities -- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Gurgaon and New Delhi -- will then compete at the National finals.

Three winners from the national finals will further progress to the Mercedes Trophy World Finals in Stuttgart, Germany, in September.

In order to introduce beginners to the game, Mercedes-Benz will host golf clinics at each round of the tournament, which will be conducted by instructors from the legendary David Leadbetter Golf Academy.