Some thrilling action was witnessed in this year’s edition of the Madras Gymkhana Club-Sportstar golf tournament held in Chennai recently. This was particularly true of the competition in the Open category, which V. Darshan eventually won with 151 gross.
Darshan is no stranger to the greens of the Gymkhana Club course — he has won the tournament in 2007, 2009, and 2011. Karun Jacob, with 153 gross, finished first runner-up, while S. M. Karthikeyan (154 Gross) was the second runner-up.
Darshan conceded that the conditions were “really tough.” “There were tons of rough. I was initially playing well, leading by six to seven shots. But things got close in the 17th hole when I had a quadruple bogey. It went right down to the wire but I am glad I won,” smiled Darshan.
N. Veeraraghavan won with a score of 134 Nett in the Handicap section. In the Stableford category, C. Chandrasekar, with 40 points, and S. Ganesan, with 39 points (B/B), finished first and second respectively. Ram Pramukh Reddy (+3 points B/B) and H. R. Srinivasan (+3 points) were winner and runner-up respectively in the Bogey category.
Prathiksha Ravi was the ladies’ winner. N. Veeraraghavan, Muthukumaran, V. R. F. Paulraj, and P. Selvaraj were the winners in the team event. D. Nagaraj, S. B. S. Raman, H. R. Srinivasan, and Dhiren Rajdev came second best.
Nirmal Shekar, Editor of Sportstar presided over the awards function and gave away the prizes. “The Kasturi & Sons group is proud to have been associated with golf for more than 30 years. It’s a sport that has made strides in the last 10-15 years. The amateur community has been doing a good job and it’s nice to see many new players. The standards have also gone up,” he said.
THE RESULTS:Open: 1. V. Darshan 151 Gross, 2. Karun Jacob 153 Gross, 3. S. M. Karthikeyan 154 Gross; Handicap: 1. N. Veeraraghavan 134 Nett., 2. Dhananjay Das 138 Nett. (B/B), 3. Vivek Narendran 138 Nett.; Senior winner: S.P. Sharma 145 Nett.; Stableford: 1. C. Chandrasekar 40 points, 2. S. Ganesan 39 points (B/B); Bogey: 1. Ram Pramukh Reddy +3 points (B/B), 2. H.R. Srinivasan +3 points; Ladies winner: Prathiksha Ravi; Longest drive: H.R. Srinivasan; Closest pin: Shrenik Kumar; Wooden spoon: S. B. S. Raman; Team winners: N. Veeraraghavan, Muthukumaran, V.R.F. Paulraj, P. Selvaraj; Team runners-up: D. Nagaraj, S.B.S. Raman, H.R. Srinivasan, Dhiren Rajdev.
Arun Venugopal
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