33rd Usha Golf JTP second camp winners announced

By Rahul Banerji

The second camp of the Usha Junior Training Programme for Golf 2019 concluded on Saturday at the Delhi Golf Club with Ishan Ahuja, Viraj Khaturia, Aftab Bakshi, Arman Chacko and Shivkaran Singh taking away the most prizes across categories like putting, chipping, pitching, bunker play, long drive and match competitions.

Fifty talented youngsters at the camp were trained under the guidance of Arjuna Awardee, former ace-golfer and renowned golf coach Mrs. Nonita Lall Qureshi.

Usha International, a leading household consumer durables brand, has been associated with the DGC’s junior training orogramme since 2006 with the aim of introducing golf to youngsters between age eight and 17 and discovering and nurturing talented juniors.

The 33rd Usha JTP has beendivided into four 10-day camps that began on May 13 and will end on June 21.

Good exposure

Participating kids are trained on the different aspects of the game by Category-A coaches, Ajay Gupta, Vikram Sethi, Nonita and Jasjit Singh. Participants are segregated by their level of ability – beginners, intermediate and advanced.

A daily session of two hours covers different aspects – driving, putting, chipping, bunker play, and pitching, as well as the basic rules and etiquette of the game. Each camp concludes with a prize distribution ceremony where participants are awarded according to age and ability across all disciplines.

Over the years, the programme unearthed the likes of Shiv Kapur, Daniel Chopra, Rashid Khan, and Gauri Monga. 

While the programme is a way of discovering and nurturing promising youngsters, the nature of the game teaches them concentration, focus, goal setting, conflict resolution, and leadership skills, lessons that serve them well beyond the greens.

Sharma shining

Meanwhile, in Columbus, Ohio, Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri had contrasting fortunes at the Memorial Tournsmant host by Jack Nicklaus at his Muirfield Village Golf Course on Saturday.

Follow the action at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

While Sharma (73, 71, 69, who caught the eye on Friday with a lasered 2-iron second shot that earned him a rare albatross (or double-eagle as it seems to be known these days) and followed up with a solid 3-under par round, Lahiri returned his second par-plus card of the week.

Sharma seemed well set for a top-30 placing going into the final day till he was undone by an 18^th hole double bogey, Lahiri (67, 76, 75) has struggled to match his first day performances but will be looking for a more composed finish as one of his favourite events on the PGA Tour.

German’s Martin Kaymer led the field by two shots on 15-under ahead of Adam Scott, Jordan Speith, Hideki Matsuyama and the ever-present Patrick Cantlay, who has ha a remarkably consistent season this far

Also read: Usha JTP to be held at Delhi Golf Club from May 13