By Rahul Banerji
Sahil Jain (handicap category A, 0-17) and Saikat Jain (handicap category B, 18-24) took the final two places in the national finals of the Mercedes Trophy on day two of the Noida leg at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort on Thursday, with nett score of 72.4 and 72.8 respectively.
Other winners on the day included Joydeep Nayar in the Ballantine’s long drive challenge with a 305-yard effort, and Nishit Sadh in the Standard Chartered closest to pin contest at 5 feet, 6 inches.
In the Mercedes-Benz closest to pin in two shots, Rohit Duggal was 5 feet, 7 inches away to win while Vipender Sabherwal took the Mercedes-Benz straightest drive honours by landing the ball on the line.
Around 120 golfers competed on the day and the event will now move to Chandigarh for the next leg where another four qualification spots will be on offer. The Chandigarh leg will tee off on March 6 at the Panchkula Golf Course.
On Wednesday, Abhyudaya Singh and Geeta Rai topped categories A and B respectively on the first day of the Noida leg.
The national final of the Mercedes Trophy will be played at the Oxford Golf Resost in Pune from March 27.
Chittagong Open from March 6
Meanwhile, the third edition of the City Bank American Express® Chittagong Open will be held at the Bhatiary Golf & Country Club from March 6 to 9, jointly sanctioned by Professional Golf Tour India (PGTI) and Bangladesh Professional Golf Association (BPGA).
A total of 126 professionals from home and abroad are participating in this tournament with the PGTI fielding 78 and the BPGA 48. Countries represented in this tournament include the USA, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh for a total prize money of Bangladesh Taka 47,40,000.
Title sponsor City Bank’s deputy managing director, Sheikh Mohammad Maroof, said, “City Bank has been promoting professional golf in Bangladesh for almost a decade now and we will continue to support in developing young talents in this elegant sport of nerve, energy and craftsmanship.”
Added BPGA president Khandaker Abdul Wahed, “We are very happy that BGCC is hosting the 3rd professional golf tournament which is co-sanctioned between PGTI & BPGA. We will extend all of our support to make this professional golf tournament a huge success.”
Also read: Chaudhary, Agarwal qualify on day 1 of Mercedes Trophy Gurgaon leg
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