Noida Golf Course plays host to Rotary Cama fund-raiser

By Rahul Banerji

Earlier this month, the Noida Golf Course hosted the third edition of the Rorary Cama golf tournament, which saw a field of 128 take to the course in all sections, amateurs, ladies, seniors besides a good number of Rotarians.

The event was sponsored by Indraprastha Gas Limited and supported by a number of well-wishers.

Noida Golf Course tournament committee chairman Simarjeet Singh emerged the overall winner with a 1-over par round of 73, while Aditya Aggarwal was the overall nett winner.

The top prize in the senior category (above 65) went to NGC golf captain Cmde V.K. Thakur.

Shubhankar to defend Players C’ship title

Meanwhile, Shubhankar Sharmareturns to the domestic golf circuit to defens his crown at the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship Presented by Eagleton that gets under way near Bangalore on Tuesday.

Shubhankar, now an European Tour regular, will be the star attraction at the tournament which returns to the Eagleton after four years after his win back in 2016.

The two-time winner on the European Tour, 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion and the second-highest ranked Indian in the world at 264, will be playing his first PGTI event after a year.

Other leading names in the field this week include Asian Tour regulars Chikkarangappa S., Khalin Joshi, Viraj Madappa and Aman Raj.

Udayan Mane, who jumped from 417 to a career-best 303 in the world rankings as a result of his second back-to-back title on the PGTI in Hyderabad last week, is also part of the field.

‘Good memories’

Shubhankar said, “I’m extremely happy to be back home and playing alongside some of my friends. I’m excited about returning to one of my favourite courses Eagleton. I have good memories of my win at this venue back in 2016 when I shot a 24-under total.

“I had three weeks off so I thought competing this week would give me good practice for the European Tour events ahead. I’ve recently been working on a lot of things with my coach and playing a tournament is the best way to put those changes into practice and test yourself.

“There’s also no better place to find my form than my home tour.

“It was an up and down season for me last year in Europe but I managed to find some form towards the end with a couple of top-10s. The experience gained over the last one year has been invaluable and has made me a better player.

“The world ranking points on offer on the PGTI was an added incentive for me to play this event. As the race for spots at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics enters its final stretch, every world ranking point counts. So, a good finish here would really help in boosting my Olympic hopes.”  

Former India hockey captain Dilip Tirkey will be playing his second event as a professional at Eagleton this week.

Tirkey, a three-time Olympian and 1998 Asian Games gold medallist, had last month played the PGTI Qualifying School 2020 in Ahmedabad and also at the Golconda Masters last week in Hyderabad.

Also read: Vidhatri Urs tops Sirikit Cup trials at Noida Golf Course