Following the success of the Merchants Cup golf competition in bringing a touch of camaraderie amongst the corporates in Kolkata, the Rotary Club of Madras picked up the idea and launched a similar competition in Chennai. The Rotary Club of Madras-Alchemy Corporate Golf Challenge, with The Hindu as media partner, however, was something more. “Service to the society through golf,” said Ravi Katari, a key member of the golf committee, of the maiden venture. The t ournament not only offers the amateur golfers from various corporate houses the chance to mingle with one another but also raises funds through contributions for the various projects of the Rotary Club. In this case, the proceeds went to the Ray of Light Foundation to help cancer patients. Besides, as Katari stressed, there were any number of prizes that good performers could take home, including a car given by Hyundai.
None came up to the level of winning the car, but the competition was keen nevertheless. The tournament attracted 119 contestants from over 50 companies. Popular golfing personality and a senior official of the circuit, Dilip Thomas’s AVT DT (nine points) bagged the team event. Dilip had three points and his partner Sanjeev Mehra posted six points. The team was declared winner on better back-half score, something that reflected the closeness of the competition.
The Murugappa Group (also nine points) finished runner-up (Arun Murugappan scored 8 points, while C. V. Yudhvir had one). The individual honours went to Krishna Prasad (10 points) in the 0-9 category, while Ishwar Achanta (Viking Shipping, three points) was the runner-up. K. Jaganathan (Oriental Capital 12 points) won the 10-18 category, followed by S. Kumar (eight points). Former India cricket captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth was the guest of honour. K. N. Vaidyanathan, CEO, Alchemy, was the chief guest, while Indira Subramanyam, President, Rotary Club of Madras, gave away the prizes.
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