NGC Oil India New Year Cup draws record number of entries

By Rahul Banerji

This may be the coldest winter to have hit the region in the last 118 years, but the freezing temperatures seem in no way to have deterred members of the Noida Golf Course (NGC), who have been turning out in good numbers for the Oil India New Years Cup these past two days.

A record 530 entries were received for the NGC NY Cup, according to event organizer Simarjeet Singh. Played over two rounds – morning and afternoon – each day, every list has been close to full as golfers have shrugged off the sub-normal temperatures and come out swinging.

With between 80 and a hundred golfers playing each round, over 400 have taken to the course in search of fame, glory and some nice spot prizes over the first two days with another good number out to make a mark on Sunday as well.

Competitive scores

Almost all the 18 greens are running faster than normal thanks to some careful pre-event attention which suggests some competitive cards will be handed in when the numbers are finally tallied on Sunday evening.

All the club’s bug guns are in the fray and some keen competition has already taken place, and the final two rounds are still awaited.

The fairways though, could have seen some better handling. Recently sanded, the sieving process seems to have been incomplete and almost every fairway has more than a fair share of pebbles and small stones that escaped the preparation process.

Success story

Other than that, the NGC Oil India New Year Cup has been quite a success, Simarjeet says, with a good number of prize sponsors stepping up as well.

Taylormade India have come forward to support the tournament with each entrant receiving a glove and a sleeve of Taylormade’s Noodle balls, while the spot prizes include Greg Norman branded shorts besides other gear.

Other sponsors include Bank of Baroda, Acoosta and SureGolf, all of whom have contributed in varying ways.

And with plenty of good company, good cheer and a hot breakfast/lunch thrown on each playing day, the entrants – be they super seniors, seniors, regulars or juniors – have much to be pleased with going into 2020.

Also read: Two aces, four count-back wins mark NGC Captain’s Cup tournament