It’s Darshan, again

Defending champion Darshan Veeraraghavan (above) continued his love affair with the MGC-Sportstar Open golf tournament in Chennai, winning the Open category of the competition for the fifth time recently.

At the Madras Gymkhana Club golf annexe, Darshan, finished day one as the leader (70 Gross) along with Arun Murugappan.

The following morning, Darshan promptly won with a score of 144 Gross. L. Selvadurai was the first runner-up with 151 Gross while Murugappan (151 Gross) finished second runner-up.

In the Handicap section, S. Venkatesh, with 132 Nett, emerged winner. N. Veeraraghavan and C. Saitu (both 138 Nett) came second and third respectively.

Darshan, besides winning the title last year, had won the competition in 2007, 2009, and 2011.

“This is my first title in an ‘even’ year,” remarked Darshan. While he called his first title the “hardest”, this victory, according to Darshan, was “one of the easier ones.” “It was close till the eighth hole. I only had a one-shot lead until then. I birdied the eighth and the ninth and from then on I played percentage golf and closed it out,” said Darshan.

Nirmal Shekar, Editor, Sportstar, and Sports Editor, The Hindu, gave away the awards. “ Sportstar is thrilled to be sponsoring this event. It’s one of the most popular golf tournaments in Chennai and perhaps South India. We look forward to continuing our association with the tournament,” he said.